San Bernardino resident Daniel Salvador Angulo Serrano, 33, was arrested by police after a fight broke out at a pro-Trump rally near Huntington Beach Pier on April 2.
According to Huntington Beach police, Serrano was arrested on “suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon that was not a firearm.” Local authorities did not identify the victim of the alleged assault.
The Huntington Beach rally was organized in response to the indictment of former president Donald J. Trump. According to the indictment, as reported by the New York Times, Trump falsified records to hide hush money paid to adult entertainment star, Stormy Daniels, in the final days of the 2016 presidential election.
As reported by My News LA, demonstrators at the rally “carried U.S. and ‘Make America Great Again’ flags, chanted ‘God bless Trump!’ and proclaimed Huntington Beach to be ‘MAGA’ Country.”
Huntington Beach Public Affairs Manager Jennifer Carey, in an interview with the LA Times, claimed that the rally was mostly peaceful. Hospitalization was only a precaution for “minor injuries.” Carey did not respond to a request for comment from the New University.
According to the LA Times, two protesters at the Huntington Beach rally were hit with skateboards. One victim, who led chants denouncing the legitimacy of the prosecution against former president Trump, was hospitalized for a head injury.
The San Bernardino Sun identified Nick Taurus, a Trump supporter and a self-proclaimed American Nationalist, as an alleged victim of the skateboard attack. Following the alleged assault, Taurus commented on the incident in an Instagram post.
“[I] took a skateboard to the head for President Trump,” Taurus stated. “I’m still alive, I’m still kicking, it didn’t knock me out.”
According to Huntington Beach Police Spokeswoman Jessica Cuchilla, authorities are not aware of any future rallies scheduled and so police will maintain normal presence at the pier.
Carey stated that the confrontation “wasn’t a significant incident.” An unidentified witness also claimed to the LA Times that the assault was “unprovoked.”
In the final words of her briefing, Carey addressed the alleged assault, according to the Inertia.
“Had this not taken place at a politically motivated rally, this probably wouldn’t have warranted that much attention,” Carey stated. “We’re not sure at this point as to the motivation or what led up to it.”
Deng Liu is a City News Intern for the spring 2023 quarter. He can be reached at dengnl@uci.edu