Violence feared at upcoming Trump rallies

By Ken Stone

A British newspaper is quoting Orange County activists as predicting violence at Donald Trump’s rally Wednesday in Anaheim — two days before at least six groups protest his visit to San Diego.

Bernie-Sanders-Caucus-2-300x169
A Donald Trump pinata greeted
Democratic caucus-goers in May.
Photo by Chris Stone

The Guardian said Tuesday: “Gustavo Arellano, … a well-known activist for Latino immigrant rights, described Anaheim as a ‘riot-happy city’ and added: ‘With this move, we now know that Trump is actively wishing for chaos to happen.’”

Ada Briceño, an official with Unite Here, was quoted as saying: “My stomach turns when I hear the man’s voice. … I guarantee you that there’ll be a lot of people there. They’re coming out of anger.”

In San Diego, a similar group called Union del Barrio plans a rally at Chicano Park.

“Trump and his trumpista followers are anti-Mexican to their core,” said the group’s website. “This man started his presidential campaign attacking our community…. He has created a political climate in this country that threatens the safety of our community, and we have no other choice other than to push back against trumpismo!”

Meanwhile, Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s press secretary told Times of San Diego that the mayor will not attend Trump’s rally.

Craig Gustafson, spokesman for the Republican mayor, also said Faulconer “has no plans to meet with Trump.”

Faulconer, who had backed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, said earlier this month that he wouldn’t endorse the presumptive GOP nominee because “he hasn’t earned my vote.”

On San Diego Free Press, longtime activist Frank Gormlie wrote: “It’s going to be literally one crazy, anti-Trump day in downtown San Diego…. So much is going on that it boggles the mind to try to imagine everything.”

Predicting thousands will attend, he said: “There’s at least six different networks or groups mobilizing their supporters to show Trump that San Diegans will not stand for him. The groups range from Republicans, Democrats, to anarchists, and social justice veterans, to the Union del Barrio and border activists. These groups will all have their own tactics, displaying a diversity of opposition to Trump. And then there’s the janitors – hundreds of them will be demonstrating and marching through downtown.”

OBRag.org has reported that at least one of three other groups has stated its intention of “organizing something inside” Trump’s event Friday at the San Diego Convention Center.

Facebook event pages for protests:

The New York billionaire brings his presidential campaign to the Anaheim Convention Center at noon Wednesday. He’ll then take part in a fundraiser at the Los Angeles-area home of investor Thomas Barrack Jr., a longtime Trump business associate and supporter.

Speaking to reporters in advance of Trump’s visit to Southern California, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday denounced the candidate as a “bigot” and a “racist” whose values run counter to those of Southland and state residents.

“I think that all of us that have spoken out against the things he has said and what he represents,” Garcetti said in a media conference call on behalf of the Democratic National Committee. “We simply can’t afford to give him a free pass. Donald Trump does not represent the values of Los Angeles, of Southern California and of this state of opportunity, of inclusivity and making sure that we build a strong America that leaves nobody behind.”

There was no immediate response from the Trump campaign.

Garcetti blasted Trump’s comments about Muslims and Mexican immigrants, saying, “Instead of focusing on fixing our broken immigration system, Donald Trump has been doing the exact opposite, trying to exploit unfounded fears for political gain — calling Mexicans rapists and drug dealers, saying that he could somehow deport 11 million undocumented immigrants and build a wall that would be easy to build, and he cited, I think, the Great Wall of China as evidence that it wouldn’t be so tough … something built over centuries and with a loss of many lives.”

The mayor said the nation needs bridges, not walls, stressing that Los Angeles embraces diversity.

“We make sure that everyone is treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve,” he said. “We don’t take LGBT or Muslim or Mexican Americans and try to scare people about them. We actually invite them to be part of the core prosperity of this city.

“And I think we have to keep speaking up, but what we cannot do with Donald Trump is normalize him as a candidate. This is something that Hillary Clinton talked about last night — that Bernie Sanders has mentioned as well. He’s a racist, he’s a bigot, he’s sexist, and he’s the walking embodiment of the worst of our values.”

Stone is a contributing editor Times of San Diego.  City News Service contributed to his report.  Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)