clinton. >> build a wall. >> and it was just hours ago in hickory, republican candidate donald trump was met by a crowd of thousands, many supporters, and some protesters. tonight we have team coverage of the campaigns crisscrossing our area. we start with eyewitness news reporter dave faherty at donald trump's event today. six people were taken into custody there, right? >> reporter: that was over the course of several hours. the vast majority scott, of protests, were peaceful. there were times when police had to step in to keep people safe. before donald trump arrived at the pe monroe auditorium, we could see clashes between several groups. who oppose him and support him. >> he's not racist. there's nothing racist about him. >> protests weren't always peaceful. including this incident half way through his speech.

on the ground. wrestled by police. >> they're just trying to bully their bernie sanders crap on me and i ain't gonna take me. >> they just grabbed me. >> most of the morning it was a peaceful exchange of ideas as protesters lined the sidewalk in front of grace chapel at lenoir rhine university. >> build a wall. build a wall. >> this student told us the message she wanted to share with trump. >> i would tell him that we love him. and that we hope that he changes. >> the auditorium for the rally held only 1400 people with a line stretching across the campus of lenoir rhine university, thousands were turned away. but not this group who made the drive down from ohio. after missing out on the rally there. >> i went to cincinnati. we were there early. but it was still too late. we'll get in this time though. >> what is it that you like about trump?

>> and we also saw a number of people escorted out was not allowed inside. you'll hear from both of them coming up tonight at 6:00 in a live report. reporting live from hickory, dave faherty, channel 9 eyewitness news. all right dave, thank you, now we turn to eyewitness news reporter joe bruno who was inside for trump's message to voters today. an intimate town hall setting donald trump began his day with new jersey chris christie with a warning to republicans. it's time to unify. some waited as long as 12 hours to get inside the auditorium. only for the man they were waiting to see to arrive two hours late. it didn't matter to most of them. 1400 screaming people greeted republican front runner donald trump who looks to put away the race song tuesday by winning decisively in states like north carolina, sitting beside the first major politician to endorse him, trump delivered a

get behind him or risk damaging the party. >> what they have to do is embrace this phenomenon. and go with it. and we will beat the democratics and we will beat hillary who's so flawed. >> some people would argue the damage has all ready been done. protesters once again had to be removed from his event. one falling to the ground as he was pulled away. but the overwhelming majority of the crowd consisted of trump loyalists. people who say they've been on the trump train since it embarked. >> i think more everyday now, he's beginning to be more and more popular. >> political experts say trump needs to get more specific to win swing voters. asked about his plans for veterans, the republican front runner failed to mention anything definitive. but to loyalists, that's part of the businessman's appeal. >> it's time for everybody to unify and let's go and make america great again.

public policy poling, donald trump has a commanding lead in north carolina over senator ted cruz, 44-33. reporting in hickory, joe bruno, channel 9 eyewitness news. also in a public policy pole, hillary clinton maintains an advantage in north carolina. it shows clinton leads bernie sanders 56 to 37%. donald trump's republican rival ted cruz canceled a last minute appearance today in fayetteville north carolina. his wife appearing in his place. that announcement came after cruz appeared before hundreds at the zmax drag way in concord yesterday. now we want to go back to live pictures for you out of northeast charlotte where thousands of people have filled the pnc music pavilion. they're out there to hear democratic bernie sanders. you can see him at the podium there surrounded by all of those supporters. in the mean time, just across town in elizabeth, eyewitness news reporter elsa gillis is live. outside of the grady cole center.

clinton is set to speak later on tonight, elsa? >> erica, with just about four hours to go until the event starts, a crowd has started to gather at the brady cole center. some people picnicking waiting for doors to open at 7:15. organizers are expecting 1500 people here tonight. hillary clinton is on her way to charlotte from chicago where she spoke earlier today. the program is set to begin here at 9:15 tonight. campaign staff i spoke with say they're feeling good going into tomorrow. a recent pole from high point university shows clinton with a solid lead over bernie sanders in north carolina. leading 58% to bernie sanders 44%. on top of that, one volunteer from campaign says clinton built strong relationships with leaders in north carolina and she's been visible in the state over the years, she says that along with her experience will make a difference with voters tomorrow. >> i see hillary as a fighter.

and she's a change maker. and i think that she's being honest with the american people. she sometimes tells them things they don't want to here. but she's doing it because she's been there. >> coming up, we'll hear from people waiting to see clinton speak tonight. be sure to follow me on twitter. i'll be giving you live updates all throughout the evening. reporting live in elizabeth, elsa gillis channel 9 eyewitness news. when you go to vote tomorrow, bring your photo id. this will be the first time north carolina voters have that id law implemented. even though many parts of the law are being challenged in court. voters must bring a north carolina voters license, passport or voter identification card. during early voting, more than 150 people didn't have acceptable id with them. our coverage of the primary continues over the next 90 minutes. next at 5:30, the special security changes needed for this election. and i'm investigating which candidates are getting the most money from north carolina. and then at 6:00.

the last minute push to try to get your vote. now we're carrying tonight's events live at wsoctv.com. there you can also see video. and a slide show of the crowds and the protesting. it's the top story on our home page. now to major breaking news. channel 9 has confirmed that charlotte's former mayor, patrick cannon, will be back in mecklenburg county on wednesday to answer to a voter fraud charge. now cannon will be arraigned at the mecklenburg county courthouse. cannon pleaded guilty to corruption charges back in october of 2014. and was sentenced to serve 44 months in federal prison. but before he was taken to prison, authorities say that he voted in the november 2014 election. officials say that he should not have been allowed to vote because at that point, he was considered a convicted felon. a major step tonight could redevelop the former eastland mall site that's been sitting empty for nearly four years now.

vote to sell part of the property to charlotte mecklenburg schools. the plan is to build a kindergarten through eighth grade school on site. the leaders are also trying to find private developers to build apartments, office, and retail on the 80-acre lot. it's been a long battle to try to bring life to this empty life in east charlotte. there was hope for a movie studio to be built there. but that idea was killed. questions about financing and construction costs. we'll continue to monitor the vote that's happening at city council tonight. we'll bring you the latest developments on eyewitness news at 10:00 and 11:00. a major west charlotte road will be closed after a car hit a utility pole. chopper 9 flew over the scene at freedom drive and wesley village road. you can see crews working on the lines this afternoon. police say two cars collided at the intersection. one hit and damaged the pole and brought down the power lines.

woman's home in gaston county. she initially told dispatchers she couldn't get out of the house on oak run court. but she managed to escape through the back door. neighbors could see the home filling up with smoke. >> we was taking my brother to the bus stop. and next thing you know you hear six or seven loud pops and then you just see smoke. >> firefighters say it started in the back bathroom of the home. but they haven't determined exactly what caused it. the woman had to be treated for smoke inhalation. this week south carolina senators will consider a bill that could discourage foreign refugees from resettling in the state. the bill would require refugees to register with dss and for sled to track them. it would also ban any state or local money from benefiting supporters say they don't want refugees who come from places where terrorists are welcome. the unc system's newest president met with students at unc charlotte. margaret spellings is focused

campuses during her first 100 days as president. during a question and answer session, she told students and staff she's focused on college afford ability. and achievement in higher education. her first days as president have been bogged down by controversy. critics of spelling's hiring stood silently at a board of governor's meeting at fayetteville state university with their backs turned to her. they say the hiring process wasn't transparent and they're worried about what direction she'll take with the unc system. the links blue line will shut down an intersection at unc charlotte. crews closed jw clay boulevard at north trion this morning. this allows a contractor to grade the intersection and get it ready for tracks to go in. that keeps drivers from making a left turn and a u turn. the intersection is expected to reopen march 28th. i'm tracking a line of showers now moving into the mountains. i have another future cast to

when they reach the charlotte area. the conviction thrown out after a charlotte lawyer and former state representative allegedly slept through a trial. we're pushing nick mackey for answers about the allegations and what's next for this case. >> he's safe and the other people are safe. that was the most important thing. >> a local teen accused of wanting to kill for isis in court for murder.

the decision to go for the decision right now we're using the strongest radar in charlotte to track the severe storm moving closer to the area. steve will be back in a few minutes to break down the severe conditions headed for

and the other top story now, presidential candidates zeroing in on our area on the eve of the north carolina primary. you're looking live now at the bernie sanders event. it's at the pnc pavilion in northeast charlotte. eyewitness news anchor liz foster is there. she'll have a full break down of sander's message ahead tonight at 6:00. all new tonight, this morganton teenager accused of trying to help isis now faces the death penalty in a separate murder case. he's accused of killing his neighbor just months before he allegedly expressed support for the terror group. ken lemon spoke to the suspect's father and the victim's family about these developments. justin sullivan seemed very calm in court today. he answered every question from the judge without hesitation. the 19-year-old charged with killing a man as practice for a large scale terrorist attack

contact with the judge. justin sullivan's father said his son masked his true feelings. rich sullivan wiped away tears at times in court. he doesn't see his son as an accused killer or isis convert. >> flash backs of how he was and what could have been. >> rick sullivan says justin regrets the actions that put him here. he reported his son after reported him acting strangely. he watched video of isis attacks. including beheadings. he planned to launch a large scale attack killing hundreds. he said he planned to kill his parents if they got in the way. but he wanted practice killing first. police say he used his father's rifle to kill 74-year-old neighbor johnny clark. then buried clark's body in clark's backyard. >> he was such a wonderful man. he didn't hurt anyone. clark's cousin is glad the case

because this is a death penalty case. he'll get a second attorney to help defend against the charge of murder. he all ready has an attorney who is here with him in court. sat behind him during this hearing. who will represent him in those federal charges. in morganton, ken lemon, channel 9 eyewitness news. you can see all of our coverage of this case at wsoctv.com. as well as the court documents. it's all inside ken's story on the home page. now chief meteorologist steve udelson tracking a powerful storm pushing toward the mountains. yeah erica, this line is moving into the high country. two places we're going to zoom in to tightly. let's check what's happening in ash and watauga counties. pretty good storm along the tennessee and ash county line. south of mountain city. on its way toward grayson. should arrive in five or ten minutes. you'll know when it's coming. you'll hear the thunder. there's a fair amount of lightning. winds at 40 miles per hour. it's not what we consider severe. severe winds are 60 miles per

that's going to slide north into virginia. the other storm we're keeping an eye on down over the upstate of south carolina, north of clemson, it's northwest of greenville. that's going to slide on to the east. just north of greenville in the next hour or so. it too has a lot of lightning. and this is the sort of thing that we're forecasting to arrive in the charlotte area as we head through this evening. basically a line of showers and storms. some of which could produce heavy rain, gusty winds and also small hail. there's a look at temperatures helping set the stage. upper 70s in charlotte now. we fell shy of 80 this afternoon. and the warmth, that's just the beginning. all the conditions are coming together for powerful storms for mid march. for more on that, let's head to the roof, the channel 9 roof. we go to john ahrens. >> reporter: we're looking and paying attention closely to the clouds and cloud development. we're seeing cumulus clouds. and these clouds are building up from top to bottom.

you can see the smaller ones. in the background, the clouds are starting to grow in height. the taller that they get, the mar dangerous they get. and the heat is what's leading that on. pretty soon you get to the point where they're growing up so high that they start to get into some colder air and that will lead to big hailstones that could be dropping down. that's why hail is a significant threat. to take us through the storm time line, here's steve. west of charlotte through the mountains and foothills at 7:00 or 8:00 tonight. for the charlotte area the time line is 9:00 to 10:00. then it's out of here very quickly. and by the the time you get up tomorrow morning, a few left over clouds. still warm for march, temperatures in the mid 50s. the only 40s up across the high country. wake up forecast, readings around 60. light jackets all you need through the end of the morning drive. a couple showers possible in the high country again over night tonight, early tomorrow. that's about it. plenty of sunshine as we head through the day tomorrow.

we'll be 60 by the end of the morning drive. low 70s by lunch time. and into the upper 70s to about 80 by this time tomorrow evening. that's close to 20 degrees above average still. the neighborhood forecast in salisbury, more sun, temperatures at least into the mid 70s and out toward page land in the midlands of south carolina, about 80 or a little bit better. a little less humidity. through wednesday, a few more showers possible, first thing in the mountains, charlotte area stays dry. we'll be dry for a good part of the week. but the warmth, that continues to build. low to mid 80s on wednesday. slowly cooling off after that. and back to average, which believe me is going to feel pretty chilly as we head into the weekend. here's a look at my five-day forecast, back to the 60s by saturday with a few scattered showers. 63. we thought we were in the 80s for good. >> it'll be here for a bit. just hours before voting starts in the north carolina primary tomorrow, and three

make stops in our area, we're talking the a security expert about the challenges in keeping them safe. i'm investigating how much money each candidate is pulling in from voters in north carolina. why the cash may not be a deciding factor in north carolina's primary. then a pregnant woman assaulted and robbed. the attack in one charlotte neighborhood. not a lot of movement on wall street today.

you see the dow gaamerican workers brought us back from the crash. now, let's move forward. we need jobs that providedignity and a bright future. new penalties to stop companies from moving profits and jobs overseas. for businesses that create manufacturing jobs, a new tax credit. and let's invest in clean energy jobs, with 500 million solar panels installed by the end of her first term. we've gotta create new jobs andindustries of the future.

hmm hmm hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm-hmm let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together [ cheering ] i've got some real estate here in my bag counting the carson the new jersey turnpike they've all come to look for america [ cheers and applause ] all come to look for america all come to look for america all come to look for america

ove this message. raul new tonight, a 20-year-old pregnant woman is recovering after someone attacked her during a robbery in southwest charlotte. she told the officers that she was on farm hurst drive on friday night when a robber hit her in the face and then kicked her in the stomach. the police report also says she was threatened with a gun at one point. the attacker managed to get away with her purse. the victim was treated for bruises and scratches. now, you might remember this is the second time in less than a week that a pregnant woman has been the target of a violent robbery. police say that a 25-year-old woman who was due to give birth any day was assaulted at a bus stop on ashley drive in west charlotte. she says a man grabbed her

ground and kicked her in the head several times. but the robber didn't get away with anything. the woman and her child are okay tonight. we posted these stories on wsoctv.com. there you can share them with your friends and maybe help find the suspects. search for those stories on our home page. a gaston county grandmother faced a judge today charged with dwi with several children in her car and threatening police. police say that carolyn smith crashed her car saturday night with five children in it. they were grandchildren and young relatives. nobody was seriously hurt. officers say that she appeared to be drunk. police say she threatened to kill them and their family members during her arrest. all new tonight, a former south carolina trooper pled guilty to shooting an unarmed man at a gas station. the trial for sean was set to get under way this week. but instead he took a plea. this dash cam video showed him shooting jones during a stop.

shot him in the hip and he survived. he faced 20 years in prison for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. a man's conviction thrown out after his lawyer and former state lawmaker allegedly stepped during the trial. >> it just doesn't happen that a lawyer falls asleep during a very serious trial. >> we're asking what's next for nick mackey and the delima that put together a new case. a man shot and killed his stepson inside this house. the surprise police found when they got on scene that also put their lives in danger. then live pictures as presidential candidates laser in on north carolina. we have team coverage from the heightened security to the north carolina dollars funding their campaigns.

coming up in if you're doing everything rightbut find it harder and harderto get by, you're not alone. while our people worklonger hours for lower wages, almost all new income goes to the top 1%.

pay their fair share of taxes, provide living wages for working people, ensure equal pay for women. i'm bernie sanders. i approve this message because together, we can make a political revolution and create an economyand democracy that works for all and not just the powerful few. tonight powerful storms packing a hard punch are inching closer to our area. i'm allison latos. >> and i'm scott wickersham. these storms are packing heavy rain, wind, and possibly hail. chief meteorologist steve udelson is tracking the threat for your neighborhood tonight. i'm tracking this line, and moving into the mountains now. we'll take you to two different stops. one of the northern mountains in ash county. pretty good storm in progress now.

that's going to continue to slide north and east toward lansing in the next few minutes. through. and before it does. hot spot. just west of highway 88 in ash county. that's where the lightning will be in the next hour or so. then there's a storm to the southwest. a severe thunderstorm warning in the upstate of south carolina. we're taking a very close look at this. i want to take a look at that on the 3d radar in a little bit. it may try to become tornadic as it moves north and east. it's not going to be one solid line. but there will be a line of showers and storms or batches of them moving through the foothills by 7:00. charlotte by 9:00 or 10:00. this is history by midnight. it's a one and done. but any one of these showers and storms, we could see damaging winds and large hail, here's a look at the threats through the evening, for the mountains, between 5:00 and 7:00, for charlotte, 8:00 to

damaging winds and hail by far the greatest threats. >> you can use the wsoc-tv weather app to track the storm as it approaches your neighborhood. it's free for iphone and android devices. to our other major story tonight. thousands of voters have come out to see the presidential candidates vying for their vote. we have crews spread across the area tonight in northeast charlotte where democratic candidate bernie sanders is speaking at a rally right now. to elizabeth where voters are all ready lining up to see hillary clinton who won't speak for another four hours. and then thousands couldn't even get inside when donald trump was at lenoir rhine in hickory today. >> eyewitness news anchor erica bryant is here to take us through the events in the area today. >> a huge day in our area with the candidates doing everything they can to sway voters before tomorrow's big primary. for senator bernie sanders,