COSTA MESA – In the wake of Thursday’s rowdy Donald Trump rally just a few miles away, administrators at Newport Harbor High School considered prohibiting a handful of students from wearing “Dump Trump” T-shirts, but they decided against the ban.

The students had donned the anti-Trump shirts Friday on the heels of the GOP front-runner’s rally, which was marked by heavy police presence, tense confrontations and several arrests.

Principal Sean Boulton said, “In light of the rally last night, we asked students with any Trump apparel on, whether it was pro or against, to remove it.”

But after talking to students, Boulton decided to let them keep the shirts on.

“The girls are actually back in class right now wearing their ‘Dump Trump’ shirts,” he said around 2 p.m. Friday.

The idea of possibly banning Trump attire, the principal said, was based on safety concerns and reports that students were getting bullied for their views. In recent weeks, the school has had to scrub down pavement scrawled with pro-Trump messages including “I love Trump” and “Trump Rules,” he said.

“We’ll just kind of monitor the situation,” he said. “We’ve asked everyone to report bullying or name calling … I support the passion. We have students that are socially, politically motivated … whatever sort of personal attack occurs – then, yeah, that’s a whole separate issue.”

Contact the writer: jclay@ocregister.com