BERKELEY, Calif. _ Hundreds of pro-Trump demonstrators and counterprotesters clashed Saturday at a "Patriots Day" rally in Berkeley. It was the third time the two groups engaged in violent confrontations on city streets in recent months.
Fistfights broke out near Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, where Trump supporters had scheduled a rally. Fireworks and smoke bombs were thrown into the crowd, and a few demonstrators were doused with pepper spray.
Both groups threw rocks and sticks at each other and used a large trash bin as a battering ram as the crowd moved around the perimeter of the park. One bank boarded up its cash machines before the rally as a precaution.
Sixteen people were arrested, said Officer Jennifer Coats of the Berkeley Police Department. Nine people were injured, with six taken to a hospital for treatment, including one stabbing victim, she said.
About 250 police officers were deployed to the scene by mid-afternoon after officials sought assistance from the neighboring Oakland Police Department.
Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers, said he came from Montana with about 50 others to protect Trump supporters. They were joined by bikers and others who vowed to fight members of an anti-fascist group if they crossed police barricades.
"I don't mind hitting" the counterdemonstrators, whom he called "neo-Nazis," Rhodes said. "In fact, I would kind of enjoy it."
But Rhodes credited Berkeley police for new tactics that mostly kept the two sides apart and "our side chilled and relaxed," though sporadic fights broke out among both groups throughout the morning and afternoon.
Brenna Lundy said she drove from San Francisco to attend what she thought was an organizing event against the alt-right. As the violence unfolded, she stayed and attempted to talk to some of the people shouting insults at her.
"So I genuinely wanted to talk. I am trying to talk to you," Lundy said to a woman screaming at her that "Obama hates blacks."
Another woman from the pro-Trump side came up to Lundy and, putting a hand to her ear, said, "Ask her why she hates white people."
Lundy looked confused. She gave up and turned away.
"This is more of a riot," she said.
The rally, one of many held across the country, was sponsored by the pro-Trump group Liberty Revival Alliance and was originally scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. in Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. A scheduled farmer's market, which is usually held adjacent to the park, was cancelled as a precaution.
Berkeley Police Sgt. Andrew Frankel told local television that police would have extra patrols on duty in case things get out of hand. "We've staffed accordingly and are preparing for a number of different contingencies," he said.
About two dozen police officers were at the park early Saturday and set up a narrow entrance to control access. Those entering the park are prohibited from bringing the following items: metal pipes, baseball bats, poles, bricks, mace, knives, rocks, glass bottles, eggs or Tasers.
Last month, 10 people were arrested and seven others injured at what was supposed to be a pro-Trump rally in the liberal community. In February, a scheduled appearance by conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was canceled during a violent protest on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.
