The demonstration spiraled toward violence just after 4 p.m. as pro-Trump activists decried a proposed city council resolution condemning the Republican front-runner who won big in five state primaries.
A pair of young girls, ages 8 and 11, were among the bystanders struck by an anti-Trump counter-protester’s stream of pepper spray into the crowd. The unidentified suspect then fled the demonstration, Anaheim police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said in an email to the Daily News.
.@AnaheimPD moved in to separate @realDonaldTrump supporters & protesters- people pepper sprayed, including kids pic.twitter.com/DZxkHJbOdm
— Tara Wallis (@tarawallis) April 26, 2016
The protest was sparked by an upcoming vote to denounce Trump’s “divisive rhetoric” in a resolution that has divided the Anaheim government.
Mayor Tom Tait pledged to abstain from voting on the resolution on Tuesday night, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Although the resolution would prohibit the city from spending public funds on the anti-Trump debate, Tait questioned that claim and said the measure is inappropriate.
"We've taken positions on legislation, but never on a candidate," he told the Times. "Certainly, privately, any council member or I could, but as an official government action — it's not appropriate."
The council ultimately decided to shelve the resolution following five hours of public comment and debate, according to the Orange County Register.
The document condemned Trump’s history of verbally attacking minorities and women, as well as encouraging violence at his fiery rallies.
A city attorney argued that the proposal is legal and “authorized by state law,” the Times reported.
The nixed Anaheim resolution comes six weeks before Californians hit the polls for the Republican primary.
The proposal attracted die-hard Trump supporters and naysayers flinging fighting words before both groups whipped out canisters of oleoresin capsicum that splashed two little girls in the face.
.@SaraWelchKTLA says protesters NOT police pulled out the pepper spray during @realDonaldTrump rally in Anaheim pic.twitter.com/z0TbG5fxnb
— Tara Wallis (@tarawallis) April 26, 2016
The children were standing by a woman wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and were pictured sobbing as paramedics came to the rescue.
It’s unclear who fired the pepper spray or brandished a stun gun heard in a video at the confrontation.
The pepper spraying incident is the latest in a long string of violent confrontations that have wounded people at Trump rallies across the nation. Anti-Trump protesters have been punched, pepper sprayed and forced out of campaign rallies.
Anaheim came under fire in February when a group of counter-protesters attacked Ku Klux Klan members in Pearson Park.
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