{"id":153302,"date":"2016-05-24T21:49:27","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T03:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=153302"},"modified":"2016-10-12T13:10:57","modified_gmt":"2016-10-12T19:10:57","slug":"tensions-high-as-protesters-disrupt-trumps-albuquerque-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2016\/05\/tensions-high-as-protesters-disrupt-trumps-albuquerque-rally\/","title":{"rendered":"Tensions high as protesters disrupt Trump’s Albuquerque rally"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tensions were high inside and outside the Albuquerque Convention Center\u00a0as presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump held a rally there Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n

Several times, Demonstrators interrupted Trump’s speech and were removed.\u00a0There were confrontations outside between Trump supporters and protesters. Shouting and name-calling\u00a0flew in both directions. There were multiple\u00a0different protests, and many remained\u00a0peaceful.<\/p>\n

\"Protesters\"

Courtesy photo<\/p>

People holding a peaceful protest before Trump’s rally began.<\/p><\/div>\n

Police were on high alert, things got tense when a group of about 100 people broke through a barricade outside while Trump was speaking inside. They stormed toward the convention center doors and were\u00a0met just outside them by police in riot gear. Then a human shield<\/a> of people\u00a0formed between the protesters and police to help calm the situation.<\/p>\n

After that, dozens of additional Albuquerque police officers joined the security efforts at the convention center.<\/p>\n

Through it all, Trump was… Trump. Before an estimated crowd of 8,000<\/a>, he\u00a0insulted journalists, calling them “dishonest slime.”<\/a>\u00a0He renewed his pledge to build a wall<\/a> on the U.S.\/Mexico border — in the state with the highest percentage of people who are Hispanic and Latino. He called U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas”<\/a> in a state with a high Native American population.<\/p>\n

And, after Republican Gov. Susana Martinez — who has refused to endorse Trump — said she was too busy<\/a> to attend his\u00a0Albuquerque rally, Trump took a couple of shots at her, too.<\/p>\n

“Your governor, she has got to do a better job,” Trump s<\/a>aid<\/a>. He\u00a0complained<\/a> about the state’s economy, crime in Albuquerque, and Syrian refugees in the state. He also criticized the high number of people receiving government assistance in New Mexico\u00a0and joked<\/a> that maybe he should run for governor here.<\/p>\n

A Martinez spokesman responded by saying the governor wouldn’t be bullied into supporting a candidate.<\/p>\n

“Apparently, Donald Trump doesn\u2019t realize Governor Martinez wasn\u2019t elected in 2000, that she has fought for welfare reform, and has strongly opposed the President\u2019s Syrian refugee plan,” said Martinez spokesman Mike Lonergan. “But the pot shots weren\u2019t about policy, they were about politics. And the governor will not be bullied into supporting a candidate until she is convinced that candidate will fight for New Mexicans.”<\/p>\n

Maritnez, Lonergan said, “doesn\u2019t care about what Donald Trump says about her \u2013 she cares about what he says he will do to help New Mexicans. She didn\u2019t hear anything about that today.”<\/p>\n

Demonstrators interrupted Trump’s speech several times and many, like these two, were removed:<\/p>\n

\n

Protestor chanting, “Stop the hate,” taken out by security. pic.twitter.com\/ELgWIMG9gO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Shaun Griswold (@shaun505) May 25, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n