Authorities Hope To Avoid Repeat Of Costa Mesa Chaos As Trump Returns To Orange County
COSTA MESA (CBSLA.com) — Hoping to avoid the chaos that surrounded Donald Trump's last campaign appearance in Orange County, police Tuesday were preparing for the candidate's return to the area Wednesday.
Trump is scheduled to hold a rally at the Anaheim Convention Center Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Trump supporter Anna Bryson of Laguna Niguel said she expects the mood at the event to be positive.
"This is a chance for me to be a part of the big joyful jumping around," she said. "It's such an upper, really, to get out there,"
Bryson purchased one of the 7,500 tickets that were available for the event, which quickly sold out.
Still, police say they are taking security at the event seriously, after protesters at a Costa Mesa rally last month clashed with Trump supporters and police.
To keep things under control, police are providing protesters with their own partitioned area next to the convention center.
As Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders held a rally at the location Tuesday, police were doing something of a dry-run for Wednesday, with police surveiling the area in patrol cars, on horseback and in an airplane.
"What we're telling the public is, 'The event is sold out,'" Anaheim Police Department Sgt. Daron Wyatt said. "If you don't have a ticket, the chances of you obtaining a ticket are very slim, so there's no need to come."
After the Anaheim event, Trump will travel to Brentwood for his first formal fundraising dinner, at the home of real estate investor Thomas Barrack Jr.