Protests shut down roads outside Donald Trump's Arizona rally
Protesters demonstrating against Donald Trump blocked the streets outside Trump's Arizona rally Saturday, making good on earlier promises to disrupt the GOP front-runner during his visit to the border state.
The activists, carrying signs that declared "Dump Trump" and "United Against Hate," shut down a main Arizona highway leading to the city of Fountain Hills, where Trump held a campaign event Saturday afternoon.
Protesters in cars and on foot encountered Maricopa County police during the demonstrations. Local media reported that some activists chained themselves to their cars in order to delay the towing of vehicles.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the controversial tough-on-immigration head of the Maricopa police who has pledged to provide security for the Trump event, said Saturday that his officers were working on the protests.
"We're taking proper action," Arpaio told MSNBC in a phone interview as the demonstrations continued. "I think a few cars are blocking the road... and we are removing the cars. Anybody that violates the law is going to jail."
"My main mission is to take care of the safety, security of Trump plus everybody else that lives in that town," the sheriff added.
Arpaio, who has given Trump his endorsement, took the stage before the billionaire businessman at the rally. He announced that at least three people had been arrested from the protests.
When Trump spoke at his campaign event, he only touched briefly on immigration in his opening remarks, slamming politicians for being "all talk, no action" on the issue.
"They're never going to do anything," Trump told supporters. "This country has a big big problem with illegal immigration."
Trump, who has made erecting a border wall a cornerstone of his presidential campaign, has drawn increasing fire over his contentious rhetoric on illegal immigration during the past month.
Earlier this week, one leading pro-immigration-rights group, Puente Arizona, denounced Trump as a "racist" and organized the border state protests via Facebook. Several thousand users indicated on the social media site that they would attend the demonstrations, scheduled just days before Arizona's primary contests on Tuesday.
iMagazine / March 2016