scores were injured and more than 20 people arrested after clashes broke out between protesters in Berkley, California on Saturday. Reports indicate that the protests broke out between the supporters of President Trump and his opponents. Videos that emerged from the scene show one group of protesters wearing “Make America great again” jerseys fighting with other protesters clad in black who had their faces covered.
Police say the trouble began after Trump's opponents organized a ‘Free speech’ event in a bid to counter a ‘Patriots Day’ rally organized by Trump’s supporters that was scheduled to take place at the Martin Luther King Jr.
Civic Center Park. Police who feared that the two groups of protesters would clash had placed a mesh supported by orange poles in a bid to separate the two opposing sides. However, the makeshift barricade is said to have crumbled after the protesters started throwing punches and kicks at each other.
20 arrested
Reports estimate that between 500 and 1000 people were in the park and police say they arrested 20 protesters. Police added that more arrests could follow after reviewing a video of the scene. Police say that they had issued arrests warrants for two of the protesters last month.
Farmers who had scheduled a market day were forced to call it off over fears of violence breaking out in the protest.
However one of the vendors who showed up to sell his produce said she was not ready to close down because of a protest.
Police say they confiscated weapons from the protesters and those arrested would be charged with possession of deadly weapons. Medics at the scene say that more than 11 people on the scene were injured.
Countrywide protests
Protests were held all over the country to try force President Trump to release his Tax returns. The protests were as a result of a recent tweet by Whitehouse adviser Kellyanne Conway who claimed that Americans did not care about Trump’s tax returns since they had elected him into office despite being aware that he had not released his returns.
Past US presidents have released their returns and White house has not communicated anything in regards to whether the president would release his tax returns. Reports from sources in Berkley have however indicated that the event organized by his opponents had nothing to do with Trump’s tax returns but was rather about the freedom of speech.
Some of Trump’s supporters interviewed said they came to the rally to protect their colleagues from individuals they termed as their opponents.Protests in the area are becoming a common occurrence.
