As he gets closer to the Republican nomination, Donald Trump is attracting raucous protests again.
The anti-Trump protests are ramping up again
Libby Nelson was Vox’s editorial director, politics and policy, leading coverage of how government action and inaction shape American life. Libby has more than a decade of policy journalism experience, including at Inside Higher Ed and Politico. She joined Vox in 2014.
In Orange County, California, last night, 17 demonstrators were arrested after the protests, which attracted hundreds of people. Protestors stopped traffic, broke the window of at least one police car, and threw rocks at cars on the freeway, the Los Angeles Times reported. One Trump supporter ended up with a bloody face.
Arianna Perez, 19, with the sign: "We could be peaceful & do things different, but we wouldn't get our voice heard." pic.twitter.com/xjkDOUY3et
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) April 29, 2016
As Trump gets closer to claiming the nomination, the protests are likely to ramp up. Liberal groups are already planning protests in Cleveland, the site of the Republican National Convention, the Wall Street Journal reported in March.
Cleveland, meanwhile, is spending $20 million on riot gear for police officers, including 2,000 full-body riot suits for police — meaning the city will own more riot suits than the number of police officers it employs, Josh Rosenblat reported for Vox.
Given Donald Trump’s penchant for encouraging violence among his supporters, the willingness of some demonstrators to match Trump’s violent rhetoric with property damage, and an already tense relationship between police and citizens in Cleveland, this could turn out to be a combustible mixture.
