Counter-Protesters Arrested At Pro-Trump Rally In St. Paul

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — A peaceful rally at the Minnesota State Capitol Saturday turned violent as protesters clashed with President Trump supporters.

Hundreds gathered at the Capitol for a rally in support of the president.

It was one of several similar rallies happening across the country.

There was a very clear message that Trump’s supporters are tired of all of the protests against the president.

They said they wanted to come together for a “March 4 Trump” demonstration that was about the country uniting and moving forward.

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While most of the day was peaceful, it was not without controversy.

Hundreds gathered inside the State Capitol Saturday as Trump supporters rallied for the president.

“Just look at what President Trump has accomplished in weeks since Inauguration Day,” Ruthie Hendrycks said.

Several speakers amped up the crowd. Linda Li, a Chinese-American, was there. She said she’s pleased that the president has followed through on his campaign promises.

“I like it. That’s why I voted for him. So far he’s in office, whatever he did and he promised he wants to do, he’s doing right now,” Li said.

But not everyone agreed.

At one point during one of the speeches, a protester put up a banner above the rotunda.

Things turned violent at one point as a group of around 100 people just outside the rotunda clashed with Trump’s supporters.

One man appeared to have been hit in the face, and people on both sides went running as a protester sprayed pepper spray into the crowd.

The State Patrol says six people were arrested. But the rally was not interrupted.

“There are some changes that need to be made. It’s great to say we want to be a sanctuary city and things like that but I don’t think it’s good for America. And sooner or later we’re going to run out of money and who is going to come help us,” Fred Guercio said.

Former Rep. Michele Bachmann was scheduled to speak at Saturday’s rally, but it was announced she was unable to attend due to illness.

There were also several other smaller pro-Trump rallies held in cities like Washington, D.C., Denver and New York City.