A day after violent protesters outside a Donald Trump rally threw burning items at police and toppled barricades, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee railed against “Crooked Hillary” Clinton and leaders in his own party who haven’t yet endorsed him in a boisterous but less heated rally on Wednesday.
Outside, demonstrators quietly held up signs reading “Love and Peace” and “Migration is beautiful” during the rally, but the modest crowd grew rowdier when Trump supporters came outside. The two sides shouted at each other as dozens of police moved in to prevent a renewal of the violence that included rock-throwing and burning T-shirts Tuesday night in New Mexico.
Inside, Trump’s rally was interrupted several times by protesters who were escorted out of the Anaheim Convention Center.
“Get ’em out!” he shouted at one point. But Trump urged his supporters and security to handle his interrupters gently. “Don’t hurt ’em,” he told them. “I say that for the television cameras. Do not hurt him even though he’s a bad person.”
Before the Anaheim rally, police issued a firm warning to protesters that violence would not be tolerated.
Rally attendees arrived early Wednesday, weaving through a maze of police barricades and security checkpoints before entering the venue.
He’ll be back in California on Friday with visits to Fresno and San Diego.