Juan Hernandez, a gay Hispanic Republican from Santa Clara, California, has penned an op-ed in the Washington Post in which he described how he and a friend were brutally beaten by anti-Donald Trump thugs last week in San Jose.

Hernandez, who backs Trump enthusiastically, adds that the local police stood by idly and did nothing as Trump supporters were forced to flee from the mob through the streets and to defend themselves from groups of left-wing rioters out for blood.

He writes:

And suddenly, there were protesters everywhere. Some were holding Mexican flags, or burning American ones. They were yelling “F— Trump!” at us and cornering us. Some of them started grabbing Trump supporters — they were going up and slugging people, sucker-punching people, just picking random people out. As much as we wanted to help, because our fellow Republicans were getting hit, I knew any moment that could be me. So my friend and I just kept walking — sometimes, we’d be running. We saw police standing nearby, but they didn’t do anything. That scared me, because I thought, “Okay, if I’m next, there’s going to be no cops.” … Before we could make it into the garage, four or five men surrounded me, and another four surrounded my friend. They just started swinging. We swung back as best as we could. My main thing was I didn’t want to fall; I didn’t want to be knocked down. I’m not a big guy, but I can defend myself as best I can if it’s one on one — but not when they have so much anger against us. One of the blows caught my nose, and blood just started pouring out.

Hernandez suffered a broken nose and several bloody scratches, requiring a tetanus shot. He is furious at the police, and at those prepared to use, or condone, violence against Trump supporters.

“It was much harder to come out as a Trump supporter than it was to come out as gay,” he notes, adding: “I should be able to vote for whom I want, and I shouldn’t have to deal with violence to go hear my candidate speak.”

Read the whole op-ed here.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new e-book, Leadership Secrets of the Kings and Prophets: What the Bible’s Struggles Teach Us About Today, is on sale through Amazon Kindle Direct. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.