Police Forced To Open Fire On Anti-Trump Protesters w/ LTL Munitions In Phoenix
AJR Reports: Anti-Donald-Trump protests turned into skirmishes with police in Phoenix on Tuesday, as cops unloaded on the crowds gathered outside his rally with tear gas.
In one wince-inducing moment screened on CBS5 and captured on Twitter, one protester – clad in a gas mask – kicked a canister of tear gas back at police.
Seconds later a cloud of dust mushroomed up from his groin and he doubled up in agony.
‘A guy just got shot with a rubber bullet,’ remarked one host, as the other lapsed into a pained silence. It has since emerged the man was hit with a tear gas canister.
‘So… er… yeah, the officers are not, are not messing around at all,’ the host stuttered as the stricken protester was dragged away by an ally.
He was just one of many caught up in the post-rally violence, as cops used nonlethal methods to disperse crowds who had thrown rocks and bottles at them.
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The unrest broke out after Trump swung through the city for a rally designed to fire up his base – which it did, his fans vastly outnumbering anti-Trump protesters.
Supporters and opponents alike gathered in the 107-degree heat, but it was only after the rally that violence broke out.
Police say that protesters threw water bottles and rocks at their lines, causing them to respond in kind with tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and pepper balls.
Clouds of the gas filled the night air as the president’s supporters began leaving the downtown Phoenix Convention Center.
At around 11:20pm, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said that three people had been arrested on charges related to the protest.
She added that one person was arrested on an unrelated warrant, and that two officers were treated for heat exhaustion.