Five protesters outside a fundraiser for President Donald Trump were arrested Tuesday in West Des Moines.

West Des Moines police Capt. Jody Hayes said at about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday the three men and two women would likely be cited for trespassing. The arrested protesters were with Bold Iowa, which is an activist organization that works to raise awareness about climate change.

"None of us want to go to jail," said Ed Fallon, the group's director and a longtime liberal activist who was one of those arrested Tuesday. "But given the severity of what scientists are telling us about the climate crisis, we feel it's important to try to stop this fundraising event from happening."

Fallon, 61, said any money raised for Trump would go toward denying the dangers of climate change. The group was taken to West Des Moines' police station and released later Tuesday evening.

About 20 people participated in the protest. The five arrested spent about an hour near a sidewalk blocking the entrance to the Hy-Vee corporate offices, where the fundraiser was held Tuesday, at 5820 Westown Parkway. Building security and, later, West Des Moines police instructed the five to clear the driveway. Officers explained that while sidewalks are public property, 10 feet of space must be left clear on either side of private driveways.

"It'd be like someone on the sidewalk blocking the driveway to your house," Hayes told the protesters.

Event coordinators and police began rerouting attendees to a different entrance, where other protesters had only blocked part of the roadway.

The activists, dressed in black and wearing diapers for dramatic effect, contended that they were on public property and were "justified" in holding their 6-foot-across sign. The message read "Climate Denier in the White House scare the S--- outta you? It does us!"

"We're justified for being here because of climate change," Kathy Byrnes, 57, told the captain. "We're here for the children — your children ... and the children of every species on earth."

Byrnes, Fallon and three others were arrested after walking into the office's parking lot, which is private property, and not leaving after officers told them to.

Most of the protesters were associated with Bold Iowa and showed up about 90 minutes before the arrests, at about 4 p.m. Tuesday. Several, ranging in age from 7 to 74, carried signs criticizing Trump for not taking climate change seriously enough.

Channing Dutton, 64, of West Des Moines said he would like to see the president and his supporters acknowledge the dangers of climate change and act on them.

"I'm here for the donors, not the president," he said. "I want the donors to take a look at the pictures on their cellphones of their children and to ask themselves: 'Am I backing the right horse in this race for the future?' And if they have a sane discussion with themselves, they'll realize they're not."

Follow the Register on Facebook and Twitter for more news. Tyler Davis can be contacted at 515-284-8378, tjdavis@dmreg.com or on Twitter @TDavisDMR.