Anti-Trump Protest Intensifies in Orange County as Roads are Blocked, Police Window Smashed

BY NAJA RAYNE @najarayne,people

A protest outside of Donald Trump's rally at the Orange County Amphitheatre intensified on Thursday night when protestors blocked roads and smashed the window of a police cruiser, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to the newspaper, residents also threw rocks at motorists, put holes in the tires of a police SUV, and even attempted to flip a police vehicle as a proclamation of their opposition to the GOP front-runner. The protest occurred after Trump's rally had ended.


Some of the protestors reportedly came equipped with American and Mexican flags, which they waved in the air, amongst signs that read, "Dump the Trump."

"I'm protesting because I want equal rights for everybody, and I want peaceful protest," Daniel Lujan, 19, told the Times. "I knew this was going to happen. It was going to be a riot. He deserves what he gets."

According to CBS, around 3,000 people participated in the protest, some of which surrounded at least one civilian's vehicle. However, the network reports that police did not respond in an aggressive manner.

Attempting to control the situation, officers wearing riot gear reportedly rode atop gorses as the formed a line across the road and slowly eased the crowd down the street, further from the site.

One Trump supporter Colby Nicholson, who travelled from San Diego for the rally, stood by in his "Make America Great Again" attire, telling the Times, "These people are stupid but Americans are not stupid in general. These are all underage Mexican high schoolers who have nothing to do."

The Orange County sheriff's department lieutenant, Mark Stichter, also took to Twitter revealing that a few protestors had been detained, but it wasn't immediately clear how many would arrested and booked.

At nearly 11 p.m. local time, Stichter shared another update saying that protestors had started to disband.