Another day, another scene of violence at a Donald Trump rally.
On Thursday evening in downtown San Jose, California, tensions between Trump supporters and protesters reached their peak, BuzzFeed News reports. Trump supporters left a rally at the San Jose Convention Center only to be met by a crowd of hundreds of protesters, which had grown exponentially since the beginning of the event. As expected, Trump’s typically racist rhetoric gathered a sizable group of very angry people, many of whom were Latino.
Trump supporters hurled insults at the protesters from behind a line of police officers. The supporters were wrongly under the impression that the line of police extended much further and that the police would protect them. Unfortunately for them, their blockade of protection ended only a few yards away, leaving rally attendees extremely vulnerable to the violence that would follow.
Several fist fights broke out. One protester sucker-punched a Trump fan. Other Trump supporters had their “Make America Great Again” hats snatched from their heads; protesters burned the red hats on the ground and hung them from street signs as trophies. Another Trump-supporting woman decided to taunt a crowd of protesters—only to have eggs, bottles and other projectiles pelted at her.
The San Jose Police Department took a very relaxed approach to the mounting tension and stood solemnly as violence erupted, doing little to stop the fighting. According to BuzzFeed, the police department cited fear of officer safety and the possibility of causing more violence as the primary reason they did not step in until the very end of the brutal incident.
Freelance journalist Marcus DiPaola voiced a concern with San Jose’s handling of the situation that many of us were probably thinking. “Morons,” DiPaola told The Washington Post. “How do you not staff 911 for an event of this size?”
Punches thrown outside Trump rally between supporter and protesters. Just interviewed a guy bleeding. SJP did not break line to assist
— Melanie Woodrow (@MelanieWoodrow) June 3, 2016
San Jose mayor and Hillary Clinton supporter, Sam Liccardo, spoke out against the controversy and sided with the protesters. Liccardo criticized Trump for putting local police departments in situations to deal with the problems that Trump himself has created. “At some point Donald Trump needs to take responsibility for the irresponsible behavior of his campaign,” Liccardo said to the Associated Press.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen violence follow the “Make America Great” campaign trail—and it’s surely not the last. As Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair John Podesta Tweeted, “Violence against supporters of any candidate has no place in this election.” To those passionate about keeping Trump out of office, let’s use our voice peacefully and legally: At the polls.