A pro-Trump rally in California turned violent over the weekend, leading to the arrests of four people.
Fights erupted at the Make America Great Again rally at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Huntington Beach when a masked counter-protester allegedly applied pepper spray to a woman and one of the rally's organizers after being hit, reported KTLA-TV.
"That guy over there walked up and pepper-sprayed my wife from two feet away who's a non-violent walker out here to be proud of our country," said Travis Guenther, a supporter of President Donald Trump. "What's more American, us out here displaying our freedom of speech rights, or that little punk over there spraying people in the face with mace?"
The Los Angeles Times said the masked man was tackled by a group of Trump supporters and punched and kicked.
Jordan Hoiberg, a member of the Socialist Party USA, told the Orange County Register he saw a protester use the pepper spray in self-defense.
"We were expecting it to be more peaceful," Hoiberg said, noted the Register. "We were not about to start something when we are 10 people and they are a thousand. That would be suicidal."
California State Parks Police Capt. Kevin Pearsall told the Register that three male protesters were charged with felony illegal use of pepper spray and one woman was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor assault and battery. Pearsall said two other protesters were detained but not arrested.
The Register said some marchers argued and talked with protesters without it turning physical. Trump supporter Eric Sewell told the newspaper that he attended the march to address protesters.
"I wanted to come here to talk, not to have fights on the street," Sewell told the Register. "Not everyone on the right is a hater."
Some went to Twitter to share photos and give their side of the disruption at the Huntington Beach rally.
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