Protests planned as Trump's visit to Everett remains on schedule

EVERETT --  A representative for presidential candidate Donald Trump emailed supporters Sunday night, saying Trump's scheduled campaign stop in Everett is still on.

"Mr Trump called me here at the office the other night," Senator Don benton, the state director for Donald J. Trump for President, said. "We talked for 15 minutes. He wants to be sure everyone knows he will be here this coming Tuesday night. He said how much he is looking forward to being back in Washington and ended by saying, 'Don, I'll see you and the great people of Washington on Tuesday.'"

The visit from the presidential candidate will mean traffic for Everett, and an increased police presence. Friday morning, Everett police officers circled the Xfinity Arena where Donald Trump will hold a rally.

A protest against Donald Trump is planned for Clark Park in the 2400 block of Lombard Avenue.  According to the Facebook group "No Hate in Our State," the protesters planned to march against "Trump's dangerous xenophobic, racist, misogynist, homophobic rhetoric and policies.

"On this day we will come together peacefully, and reject Trump's hate, and violence," the page read.

“We are going over our operation plans now trying to make sure there is adequate safety for people who support and people who don’t support Trump,” Everett police officer Aaron Snell said.

Volunteers for the Trump Campaign say they will pack the venue with the capacity for 10,000 people.

“They want that change, they want that improvement in the economy. We all know the country can do so much better,” said Bruno Kelpsas, King County chairman for the Trump campaign.

But Snohomish County Democrats say Trump is wasting his time.

“I think everyone who is following the polling can see what the numbers are and that is that. Hillary Clinton is winning this state by a wide margin,” said Bill Phillips, former chairman of the Snohomish County Democrats.

A new survey by independent pollster Stuart Elway shows Clinton leading 43% to Trump’s 24% in Washington.

But Trump supporters say the GOP candidate is still gaining ground.

“The reason he is coming back is that he has overwhelming support,” Kelpsas said.

Kelpsas went on to say that Clinton is taking Washington voters for granted.

Before the public rally, Trump will attend a fundraiser in the Seattle area Tuesday where couples can shell out as much as $100,000 to meet and take pictures with the presidential candidate. The fundraiser is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at an undisclosed location.

The rally is free as long as attendees get tickets on Trump’s website.

Xfinity Arena says their doors will open at least two hours before the 7 p.m. rally. The Trump campaign will give out more tickets than there are seats so the arena says getting early if you want to get in.