The Republic | azcentral.com

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery says charges have been filed against three protesters who were part of a group that prevented or delayed many from accessing a Fountain Hills park where Republican front-runner Donald Trump was rallying Saturday.

Jacinta Gonzalez, 30, Michael Cassidy, 32, and Ben Laughlin, 28, are charged with obstruction of highway, a misdemeanor, Montgomery said during a regularly scheduled press conference Wednesday.

The trio had chained themselves to their vehicles parked in the road leading to where Trump would make a final pitch ahead of Arizona’s presidential primary Tuesday. Protesters with megaphones and drums chanting “Donald Trump, shut it down!” blocked westbound lanes of Shea Boulevard near State Route 87 and eastbound lanes near the entrance to Eagle Mountain.

Some motorists got out of their cars to confront protesters or attempted to drive into the crowd. Law enforcement warned protesters that they would be arrested and their vehicles towed away if they did not clear the road.