Hundreds of people showed up to protest Donald Trump’s Friday appearance at the California Republican Party’s state convention in Burlingame, Calif., on Friday.
Protesters clashed with police in some cases, just hours after another Trump rally where protesters smashed a police car and law enforcement authorities were forced to call for backup.
Aerial shots of the protesters captured on CNN showed hundreds of people carrying signs and forming a human chain around police. One sign compared Trump to Adolph Hitler, while another pair of protesters carried a banner with the F-word spelled out in black paint.
Trump protesters have linked arms and blocked entry to Hyatt, chanting “Shut it down!” pic.twitter.com/hjcpS9oU2r
— Seema Mehta (@LATSeema) April 29, 2016
A barricade outside the Hyatt Regency was even knocked down, according to media reports.
Two dozen protesters just tried rushing the hotel where @realDonaldTrump will speak pic.twitter.com/dYDJJC5pxp— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) April 29, 2016
The Los Angeles Times said organizers are bracing for protester numbers to reach the thousands. Their presence was so heavy that Trump was forced to enter the hotel through a back entrance.
Secret Service forced to take Trump through back entrance (and ditch) to enter CA hotel amid protests pic.twitter.com/QBxXybCVnl
— David Mack (@davidmackau) April 29, 2016
The ANSWER Coalition, which organized the event, told protestors to meet outside the convention between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time.
“The Trump campaign poses an imminent danger to the most oppressed and vulnerable sectors of society and all working people and must be protested and shut down anywhere that he is given a platform to speak,” a statement on the coalition’s website said. “Solidarity and fighting unity among poor, working, and oppressed peoples is what will be needed to shut down Trump and his campaign of racist hatred.”
California voters cast their primary votes June 7, with 172 delegates at stake.
