About 100 Trump supporters and dozens of counter-protesters, some of whom described themselves as anti-fascists, faced hours in the heart of Pacific Beach in San Diego on Saturday, with officials trying to keep the opposing groups apart after several skirmishes.
The duel demonstrations close off Mission Boulevard near Crystal Pier. Police declared the rally illegal and ordered the crowd to disperse around 2:30 p.m.
Police reported on Twitter that officers were hit by a glass bottle. Rocks and eggs were also thrown at police, and pepper spray is being sprayed in the direction of the crowd, police said. They did not say who was responsible.
During one confrontation, officers fired pepperball rounds at the anti-fascist crowd.
By 4:30 p.m., supporters of President Trump are gathering again on the boardwalk, and police have allowed them to march. The marchers shouted insults and sometimes collided with passers-by.
“We will continue to monitor both groups to help facilitate peaceful demonstrations. However, we will not tolerate acts of violence, “the police tweeted around 5pm.” When rocks, bottles, pepper spray and other objects are thrown or used on our officers, action will be taken against those who act violently. “
The riots started around 1pm when a crowd of supporters and anti-fascists of Black Lives Matter, many of them dressed in black and wearing ‘antifa’ T-shirts and hats, gathered at the pier for a pro- To counter Trump ‘Patriot March’. Planned at 14:00. The march was planned long before the violent riot at the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob on Wednesday.
The protesters held signs denouncing Trump, as well as one saying, “No Nazis in PB.”
San Diego police set up a security line on Mission Boulevard in Pacific Beach on Saturday to keep pro and anti-Trump groups apart.
(Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Before the Trump rally, some counter-protesters sporadically shouted at Trump supporters along the boardwalk. At one point, someone knocked the phone out of the hand of an unknown man on the promenade and pushed it forward, knocking him down with a little boy.
Tempers flared up at that moment and some non-protesters on the promenade moved towards the group, including a man with a dog on the leash barking at the opponents.
One video posted on Twitter showed a man walking towards the anti-fascist side and repelling an anti-protester writing on the street with chalk. When fellow protesters confronted the man, officers pulled him away and behind the police line.
Both sides used pepper spray, and it was deployed at different times during confrontations.
By noon, about 100 Trump supporters had gathered on the corner of Mission and Hornblend.
Members of officials separated the groups, and some of the anti-fascist protesters mocked the police.
Police declared an illegal meeting around 2.30pm and began asking people to disperse.
“Those who remain against this legal order or return can be cited / arrested and risk exposure to chemicals and less lethal violence,” according to a San Diego police tweet.
The crowd cleared the area by 6 p.m. It was not immediately clear if there were any arrests.
Robbins and Diehl write for the San Diego Union Tribune