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Dozens Protest Outside The GOP Unity Dinner With Guest Speaker Steve Bannon

WARREN (WWJ) - Dozens gathered in protest Wednesday outside the restaurant where former White House senior adviser Steve Bannon will speak to an audience of hundreds.

Media executive and political activist Bannon — who in August left his as a Chief Strategist for President Donald Trump, and now heads up far-right news, opinion and commentary website Breitbart —an invited guest speaker at a Macomb County Republican Unity Dinner at Andiamo Restorante.

Marty from New Baltimore was among those lined along 14 Mile Road in Warren. He says he's out in the cold because everyone in the country has to speak up ... and this is about President Trump, too:

"When he speaks I can't even hear his message any more," said Marty about Trump, "because of the way he expresses himself; the insults, the childish behavior, the language, it just has to stop. This is not how we exist in a democratic, free society. We have to respect other peoples' opinions and I respect their opinion but you can't do it like this."

He says Tuesday night's Democratic victories are encouraging, but we still have work to do.

"I was here as a young woman, says Dori of New Baltimore, "protesting for women's rights, and we got somewhere. I protested the war and we got somewhere, and unless the people speak, unless they make their feelings known - it's not just at the voting booth - we need to let the public know what's happening. If they are not paying attention they need to pay attention. This is dangerous."

Robert Fidler, Media Director for the Metro-Detroit Political Action Network, telling WWJ the group will be on site to protest what they're calling the Macomb County GOP's decision to promote "a blatant white supremacist."

"While serving as Trump's chief strategist, Bannon was the mind behind the administration's most virulently racist policies. The attempted ban of Muslim refugees traveling to the US, and tearing the families apart of people of color through ICE's mass deportation campaign. The latter hitting the Chaldean community of Metro-Detroit especially hard," Fidler said, in a news release. "Additionally, he was reported to be the prominent voice behind Trump's attempt to enact a ban on transgender people serving in the military."

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