What began as an assembly of about 1,000 peaceful protesters outside a Donald Trump rally at the Albuquerque Convention Center morphed into madness Tuesday evening when mostly young, raucous rioters joined the ranks, hurling burning T-shirts, rocks and bottles toward the police and police horses trying to contain them.
Several Albuquerque police officers were injured by the projectile rocks, and at least one rioter had been arrested by the end of the night, the department tweeted. Protesters finally dispersed from the city’s downtown streets late Tuesday night, hours after the rally ended, when police in riot gear unloaded pepper spray on the dwindling crowd.
Metal barriers kept the peaceful protesters at bay earlier in the evening as they chanted and held signs in opposition to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s immigration rhetoric, a stance that has isolated Trump from some prominent Latino Republicans in New Mexico, the state with the highest percentage of Hispanics as a portion of population.
But as darkness fell and Trump took the stage inside, the atmosphere grew tense. Some protesters pushed through the metal barriers and rushed toward the convention center entrance. When the rally ended, police wouldn’t allow attendees to exit through the main door because of the mayhem outside.
Reports circulated that a gunshot was fired, leaving a hole in the side of the convention center. Police later said on Twitter that was untrue, and added there was possible damage from a pellet gun. A glass door at the entrance to the center appeared to be broken.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ble-main_mm-trumpprotest-135am:homepage/story
Several Albuquerque police officers were injured by the projectile rocks, and at least one rioter had been arrested by the end of the night, the department tweeted. Protesters finally dispersed from the city’s downtown streets late Tuesday night, hours after the rally ended, when police in riot gear unloaded pepper spray on the dwindling crowd.
Metal barriers kept the peaceful protesters at bay earlier in the evening as they chanted and held signs in opposition to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s immigration rhetoric, a stance that has isolated Trump from some prominent Latino Republicans in New Mexico, the state with the highest percentage of Hispanics as a portion of population.
But as darkness fell and Trump took the stage inside, the atmosphere grew tense. Some protesters pushed through the metal barriers and rushed toward the convention center entrance. When the rally ended, police wouldn’t allow attendees to exit through the main door because of the mayhem outside.
Reports circulated that a gunshot was fired, leaving a hole in the side of the convention center. Police later said on Twitter that was untrue, and added there was possible damage from a pellet gun. A glass door at the entrance to the center appeared to be broken.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ble-main_mm-trumpprotest-135am:homepage/story
