Anti-Trump protesters in the Tampa, Florida area reportedly “walked into the wrong bar” after they mistakenly began jeering near a US Marine Corps birthday celebration.
Pandemonium nearly broke out in Ybor City neighborhood at around 7:30 PM last night when protesters angry with the election of Presidential Elect Donald J. Trump began marching down an avenue that passed many bars and eateries.
When the protesters reached an Irish Pub, they ran into resistance in the form of US Marines and Marine veterans who were participating in a Marine Corps birthday pub crawl.
Police swiftly stepped in as the opposing sides screamed obscenities at each other and flashed rude gestures. Law enforcement were required to form a human barrier to prevent violence from erupting.
As anti-Trump crowds chanted “dump Trump”, the bar-faring Marines began to respond in cadence with a chant of “U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A!”
Realizing the Marines weren’t going to back down, the protesters moved on, with one Marine shouting “you walked into the wrong bar!” as they dispersed.
“Boy, did those protesters not expect us!” posted the Facebook group Ybor For Heroes in an after-action comment on the Ybor Marine Corps 241st Birthday Crawl Facebook page.
Protest leaders and members say they will not back down.
“People are not going to go down without a fight,” Jenna Ferreira told ABC Action News. “A lot of people are feeling marginalized, a lot of people feeling oppressed, they’ve lost hope. But, everybody here is full of love and we are going to fight for our rights.”
Meanwhile, many in Ybor City who supported Trump think the protesters need to get over the loss and move on.
“I think they don’t really know the issues,” local Johnny Gomes said. “I think that they are misinformed they followed, sorry, but the regular media and don’t know the real story.”
Tampa police reportedly used a street car and mounted bike patrols to prevent protesters from blocking the interstate. Unlike many similar protests in the country, zero arrests were reportedly made in Tampa’s event and the rally was considered to be (mostly) peaceful.
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