Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s visits to California continue to spark commotion, with protesters declared “unlawful” clashing with police outside a San Diego rally.
The crowd of about 1,000 was told to disperse at 4:30 p.m. local time on Friday, when the coastal city’s police said that the assembly was illegal because of fights and protesters throwing bottles.
Police said later in the evening that a total of 35 arrests had been made.
Officers in riot gear with batons pushed the demonstrators away from the city’s downtown, where Trump had given a speech that the venue said was around 10,000 followers.
Fans of the presumptive Republican nominee and those outside later got into physical confrontations as the rally let out into the streets.
Pepper spray, which has become a familiar scent around the Trump campaign, was at one point used to push protesters back.
The tycoon’s swing out west, ahead of California’s June 7 primary, has generated repeated protests, with many drawing large numbers of Latino demonstrators against perceived racism and xenophobia.
Protesters lit the billionaire’s merchandise on fire and damaged a convention center door in Albuquerque on Tuesday night and Wednesday saw more than a dozen arrests outside an Anaheim event.
Trump and his campaign have recently taken to blasting those drawn to demonstrate outside his traveling show, saying after the San Diego rally that the city’s police did “a fantastic job on handling the thugs who tried to disrupt our very peaceful and well attended rally.”
Also on Friday, the reality television star told rally attendees in Fresno, Calif., that their state is not in a drought, though in fact the Golden State has been for five years.
With News Wire Services
