Trump supporters announced a "Patriot Day" rally at the park featuring speeches by members of the alt-right, an amorphous fringe movement that promotes racism, anti-Semitism, misogyny and xenophobia.
Protesters took to the streets in dozens of cities nationwide Saturday to call on President Donald Trump to release his tax returns, both for transparency in his business dealings and potential conflicts of interest.
But what may distinguish this event from the previous two street battles, in which pro-Trump students were beaten up by anti-Trump students and an global masked terrorist group called Antifa, was that the local Trump activists had out of state supporters who were ready for a fight. Officers on Saturday confiscated sticks, knives, flagpoles and helmets and sticks with signs on them. Media, citing police, reported that at least 11 people were injured.
The press is playing this one right down the middle - both sides are to blame for the violence that erupted in Berkeley when pro- and anti-Trump protesters clashed. No one who did not participate in the event was injured, police said. The Trump supporters moved forward with American flags and chants against "communists".
The charges for the 20 arrested "include arrests for assault with a deadly weapon and several other felony assaults", the Berkeley police said in a statement.
Daryl Tempesta, 52, who said he served in the US Air Force near the end of the Cold War, went to the rally to show his support for Trump. "I do not have any details but I was told they were transported to the hospital", Byron White with the Berkeley Police Department said. Civic Center Park for separate rallies and pushing and fistfights began.
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In order to prevent a bloody riot, city leaders on Friday had announced that pipes, bats, bricks, rocks, glass bottles, shields, pepper spray, sticks, and other potentially risky items were not allowed at the park during the rallies.
The Chronicle reported that several liberal groups long-planned to disrupt the pro-Trump rally with the intent to shut it down.
The unrest underscores the heightened political tensions that have taken hold since President Donald Trump took office in January. In February, a scheduled appearance by conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was canceled amid a violent protest at the University of California, Berkeley.
People participate in a Tax Day protest on April 15, 2017 in New York City.
The protest involved pro- and anti-Trump protesters and was similar to one at the same park March 4.
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