Donald Trump’s rally in San Jose, California, Thursday night was marred by violence by anti-Trump protesters, who attacked the event’s attendees and police.
At least four people were taken into custody, though police didn’t release total arrest figures Thursday night. One officer was assaulted, police Sgt. Enrique Garcia said.
The protesters, many of them waving the Mexican flag, surrounded the San Jose Convention Center and attacked Trump supporters. More than a dozen people were spit on, assaulted or punched, resulting in bloody injuries, as depicted in the video below:
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The protesters also burned American flags and Trump campaign memorabilia.
Lan Hoang said anti-Trump protesters stole his “Make America Great Again” hat off of his head and set it on fire as he was leaving the rally. He told NBC News he saw “a lot” of Trump supporters being attacked as he walked back to his car.
“It was unbelievable,” Steve Tong told NBC Bay Area. “I’ve never seen anything like that in America before.”
Another Trump supporter was struck hard over the side of the head as he was walking away from a group of protesters. The attack left him with blood streaming down his head and onto his shirt.
“I was walking out with a Trump sign and he grabbed my Trump sign, saying I was like a racist and stuff,” the man told bystanders and local media. “Then he followed me, like, spit on me.”
ZitatThousands of Americans participated in that most benign of civic rituals in San Jose, California, on Thursday night: seeing a presidential candidate speak. Of course, that candidate was Donald Trump, so as these engaged citizens streamed out of the arena, they were subjected to astonishing levels of violence. An angry mob pelted eggs, tomatoes, and bottles at the spectators—as well as the police, who tried (and failed) to maintain some semblance of order. Other Trump supporters were set upon and punched. One was left with blood streaming down his face. (See representative video below.)
The mayor of San Jose, Democrat Sam Liccardo, reacted angrily to the events. Not that he was particularly upset at the violent mob that attacked innocent Americans, of course. No, his ire was directed at Mr. Trump. "At some point Donald Trump needs to take responsibility for the irresponsible behavior of his campaign," the mayor said. Apparently it was downright "irresponsible" of Trump to even set foot in California's third largest city.
The Washington Post characterized the mayor's remarks as if they were just standard partisan hackery: It noted that the mayor is a "Hillary Clinton supporter." But Liccardo's remarks were far different than, say, a cable TV flack claiming that Trump's tax policy "favors the rich." (And by the way, he employed the same logic as as a slack-jawed misogynist saying of a sexual assault victim, "hey, her skirt was so short, she was asking for it.")
Zitat On Thursday, June 2, 2016, approximately 300-400 protestors gathered outside a Trump rally in San Jose. The San Jose Police Department designated two locations for supporters and demonstrators. The Department had an operations plan in place in an effort to ensure the safety of everyone attending the event. However, officers were confronted by some protestors who became violent, aggressive and began to throw objects in their direction. A majority of the violence occurred at the conclusion of the event. While several physical assaults did occur, the police personnel on scene had the difficult task of weighing the need to immediately apprehend the suspect(s) against the possibility that police action involving the use of physical force under the circumstances would further insight the crowd and produce more violent behavior. As Trump supporters were exiting the Convention Center, officers directed the crowd away from the protestors and suggested alternate routes of egress in order to prevent violence or a large-scale confrontation. This required the forming of crowd control lines of uniformed officers to act as a physical barrier to facilitate the movement of the crowd out of the area. The San Jose Police Department subsequently made four arrests for incidents including assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful assembly. A San Jose Police sergeant suffered minor injuries after a protester struck him with a metal object. The Department is currently reviewing available footage and beginning the investigative process to identify suspects who were involved in criminal behavior, particularly physical assaults, so that warrants can be sought for their arrest. The Police Department encourages any members of the public who witnessed assaults or who are possession of video footage depicting physical assaults to contact the San Jose Police Department and cooperate with the ongoing investigations.
The police chief, Eddie Garcia, also said that the police are not an ‘occupying force’, perhaps indicating that Chief Garcia’s mind really wasn’t in the right place in thinking how to react to these attacks.