While other protests took place in different cities of USA as ‘Tax Day’ on Saturday- April 15th, almost 21 individuals got arrested at Civic Center Park in Berkeley, California, for the clash between Trump’s supporters and opponents. The clash occurred at noon when the supporters of the President were carrying out a rally to celebrate their “Patriot Day” when anti-protesters, dressed in black and having their faces covered with masks, barged in and caused the fight. To view the rivalry, a huge amount of people gathered in.
There was a minor presence of police at the area. Only about two to three officers were present near the crossroads. Even though they had set up orange mesh barrier so as to separate the two parties, but it was also taken down by the protestors. The chaos caught more spark when the fight broke out in the crowd; they threw traffic cones, had basketball bats, fireworks, pipes, bricks etc. along with dumpsters that got towed to the streets. One of the men also set a red colored “USA” hat on fire. The protest covered the Center Street and Allston Way.
Although there has been no casualty reported, but numerous people were observed to have received injuries, of which seven were taken to the nearby hospital in conditions unknown.
“A large number of fights have occurred and numerous fireworks have been thrown in the crowds. There have also been numerous reports of pepper spray being used in the crowd.”
Police, upon reaching, tried to get hold of the situation by using pepper spray to scatter the crowd. One of the transit systems of Berkeley BART also got shut down. Police also impounded few prohibited items; flagpoles, stun gun, helmet, knives etc. At least thirteen culprits arrested during the brawls, which were charged for minor armor and felony assaults. A police officer said:
“Ten people were arrested for their roles in the events, and other arrests are being actively pursued. No one has applied for or obtained a permit for Saturday, and as a result, anyone at the park will be subject to these rules.”
Oakland Police officers that had come for helping out to get the situation controlled said:
“Organizers have promoted Saturday’s gathering as a follow-up to an unpermitted March 4 demonstration when numerous people were hurt due to violence.”
Here are some of the prohibited items that have already removed from the park today. https://t.co/3qx3smYwgk pic.twitter.com/A70VCxFYEu
— Berkeley Police (@berkeleypolice) April 15, 2017
A U.S. Air Force retired officer- Daryl Tempesta, 52 said that he went to rally for supporting Trump
“As a veteran, I like the track America is on, and that Trump is willing to stand and say we are still America and we are not going to be globalist, we’re not going to be a communist country. That’s a message I can get behind.”
Even so the farmer’s weekly market, due to violence concerns, were annulled in advance, yet Tim Mueller- a farm stall owner showed up, and got his stall surrounded by the mob. He said
“We decided to show up anyway because this is our livelihood”
The activism acts is not new. In the 1960s, The University of California, Berkeley was considered the center for remonstrations.