Protesters outside Trump Beverly Hills fundraiser clash with supporters, burn American flag
Protesters outside a Tuesday fundraiser for President Trump in Beverly Hills, Calif., could be seen setting an American flag on fire and chanting “America was never great” amid clashes with Trump supporters.
Local news outlet KABC published video of the incident Wednesday showing a Trump supporter attempting to break up the flag-burning and fighting with a demonstrator.
Police officers quickly broke up the fight and detained the two men involved, later telling the news outlet neither was arrested.
{mosads}KABC reported the anti-Trump group identified itself as “Refuse Fascism.”
One Trump supporter wearing a red “Keep America Great” hat told the news outlet he was attacked by an activist.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Harim Uzziel said. “I saw a scuffle in between. One of them came to the sidewalk and he started punching me and attacking me. I had a camera in each hand so I wasn’t able to defend myself.”
Gregg Donovan said he purchased a ticket to the Tuesday event in Beverly Hills for $1,000 but was unable to get in because it was overbooked. He said his ticket would be refunded.
He instead waited outside with a sign to show support for Trump.
“I was very disappointed in both sides. I took a neutral stance. I just stood there with my sign the whole time, but the burning of the flag really hurt,” he told KCBS.
Trump is in California this week for two days attending multiple fundraisers.
He held fundraisers in Los Angeles and Palo Alto on Tuesday, with more events in Southern California scheduled for Wednesday.
Trump’s secretive fundraiser in Silicon Valley Tuesday was also met with protests.
Trump lost deep-blue California to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election by more than 4 million votes.
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