SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A group opposed to California regional orders to halt the COVID-19 spread plans to host a rally at the state Capitol building Saturday, three days after a rally of President Donald Trump supporters in downtown Sacramento led to numerous skirmishes stopped by police and 12 arrests.
The rally of several hundred supporters of the outgoing president in Sacramento Wednesday coincided with a pro-Trump rally in Washington D.C., spun into a chaotic mob of Trump supporters breaking into the U.S. Capitol building in a failed attempt to derail Congress’ plan to affirm the Electoral College vote win for President-elect Joe Biden.
In attendance at Wednesday’s Sacramento rally and aligned with Trump supporters were a number of demonstrators at odds with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s regional orders to halt the spread of the coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease.
The group calling itself Re-Open Cal Now has received a permit from the California Highway Patrol to gather on the Capitol grounds starting at 3 p.m. Saturday with the event scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. The event is planned as a “gathering of local-elected policymakers and small business owners from around California advocating for the safe reopening of their local economies,” according to the event details with its permit application submitted to the CHP.
Along with Saturday’s rally at the state Capitol, the group is hosting a conference in Rancho Murieta this weekend, bringing in sheriffs, elected officials and business lobbyists to make the case that Newsom’s stay-at-home orders have harmed the California economy.
Sacramento police officials on Friday said officers arrested 12 people in the streets around the state Capitol grounds Wednesday, including a 73-year-old woman from rural Sonoma County. She was among those participating in the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” rally, according to the Police Department.
Police officials said everyone arrested Wednesday was cited and released on a charge of illegally possessing pepper spray, including a 22-year-old Turlock woman who also was cited on suspicion of illegally possessing a baton. She was among a smaller group who gathered near the Capitol grounds for a counter-protest.
Among the 12 people arrested, six were from the four-county Sacramento region and nine associated with the “Stop the Steal” rally.
The Sacramento rally earlier this week began somewhat calm with Trump supporters standing near the Capitol grounds listening to rally organizers speak to the crowd and an audio broadcast of Trump speaking to supporters at the Washington, D.C., rally. It appeared there were a handful of members of the far-right group known as the Proud Boys at the Trump rally in Sacramento, as well as numerous pro-Trump vehicles circling the area.
By the afternoon, the rally in Sacramento escalated to clashes between Trump supporters and the counter-protest group. Police officials have said they moved-in to separate the opposing groups. A few hours later, most of those gathered for the Trump rally had dispersed.
Police officials told The Sacramento Bee on Friday that they regularly have, and will continue to have, officers dedicated to monitoring the area as demonstrations are held near the Capitol building. The also said officials will provide updates regarding street closures, or any other important information regarding demonstrations on the Police Department’s Twitter account.
About 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, the Sacramento Regional Transit District announced it had suspended its light rail service and detoured bus service in the downtown Sacramento and the central business district at the recommendation of the Police Department.
The recommendation was made in response to police closing streets around the state Capitol and a large number of people walking around light rail tracks, RT officials said. RT services had resumed by 3 p.m. Wednesday.
RT spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez told The Sacramento Bee RT officials work closely with police when demonstrations in downtown Sacramento might disrupt service. They will continue to monitor routes in the area through camera systems at its operations center.
If police close streets in the area in response to a demonstration, that will typically lead to bus detours to keep passengers and RT employees safe, Gonzalez said. If potentially dangerous situations occur along RT light rail routes, that could lead to a temporary suspension of services like it did Wednesday with bus bridges to get riders to their destinations, she said.
Gonzalez advised riders to visit the RT service alerts web page, download the free Alert SacRT mobile app and monitor SacRT Twitter account for the latest updates on delays or service disruptions.
