Caravan 4 Justice is the head organization for The Urban Organizers Coalition (UOC) it is compiled of over 26 organizers. The UOC held a Black Lives Matter protest at 18181 Imperial Hwy. Yorba Linda, CA 92886, in the Yorba Linda Public Library parking lot at 2 p.m. and the event ended around 4:30 p.m.. There were around 60 total protesters.
The counter protesters were from North and South Orange County, Riverside and Los Angeles County. These Trump supporters band together and travel to different events. There were over 200 them.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), had around 100 officers in the area.
Later in the afternoon other law enforcement agencies arrived. Ranging from Anaheim, Fullerton and Placentia Police Departments. Bringing the police total to about 200.
The trouble started when a Trump supporter in his mid-fifties walked onto the lot, in front of all the organizers, he tried to take one of three folding chairs.
The group members immediately prevented the man from getting any of them. He got into a scuffle with group members and a female peppered sprayed him. This set off the confrontations among the two large crowds.
When the Trump supporters came across Yorba Linda boulevard simultaneously a solid black unmarked police SUV raced to the scene. Two Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) officers came out of their vehicle, soon after a third officer was assisting.
The three came in between the two opposing groups and managed to defuse the situation temporarily.
Both groups were across from each other on opposite sides of boulevard. As soon as the police left. The counter protesters returned.
The two demonstrators faced off. The Sherriff’s helicopter hovering above announced the event was an unlawful assembly and simultaneously a white car drove through the crowd of protesters.
Two people were injured, a man and a woman. The police managed to pull her over and arrest her. The automobile had its front windshield shattered and a flag pole was sticking out of the rear window of the sedan.
The car running over these two individuals fueled the counter protesters anger. In the heat of the moment a Trump supporter around his sixties wearing a bucket hat with no face mask, took out a hand gun and pointed the weapon at the crowd.
He quickly put it away before the situation could escalate. There were several video cameras recording all the action, ranging from the ones from the people in the parking lot, to the library’s surveillance cameras.
The counter protestors forced the BLM protestors and other groups out of the parking lot. The protesters were being pushed back.
A Sheriff’s SUV was blocking the road but the crowd just went around the vehicle. A protestor knocked on the driver side window, and gestures to do something but the officer was all alone.
One of the Trump supporters took out bear pepper spray and sprayed the crowd.
When the Trump supporters followed the BLM protestors to the intersection of Yorba Linda Boulevard and Imperial Highway the OCPD was able to hold off the counter protestors for the most part.
“We came out today to stand up against the racism in Yorba Linda and the big Trump push … we are all here to say Black Lives Matter and the racism and fascism in America the way it is turning needs to stop immediately” said Anthony Bryson a member of Caravan 4 Justice.
“I found out all these BLM and others groups were coming from Los Angeles. I wanted to protect the city. Yorba Linda, helped me out when I had Trump rallies in Riverside.” said counter protestor Justin Pearson.
At end to the afternoon law enforcement regained control of the streets. The unlawful assembly was enforced and slowly this part of the city returned back to normal.
