13 March 2018
President Trump visited the International Border Point of Entry Plaza at Otay Mesa to check on his The Wall prototypes, today.
Several hundred protesters and supporters gathered at the entrance while cops urged them to remain on separate sides of the street. With a few exceptions, they seem to have complied.
The president’s motorcade passed our position onto US Customs property along the international border and adjacent to the border entry plaza. He spent about fifty minutes there, touring his walls, making remarks to reporters who’d accompanied him and then returned the way he came.
While Trump was inside, protesters mingled. Some yelled at each other. A pro-Trump enthusiast with a bullhorn was the loudest and most persistent. Another supporter with a MAGA hat and Trump shirt waded into the anti-wall side of the street and engaged in arguments but it didn’t last.
Attendance was at about three hundred protesters total. Slightly more were with the anti-wall group than were on the pro-Trump side of the street, but a few people with “resist” signs were mixed with the Trump side, so it’s difficult to be accurate. At least 125 cops from CHP, SDPD and SD Sheriff. Hard to say. They kept moving around.
Individually, every cop I spoke to was cool and professional. Collectively, they were militaristic, imposing and overdressed. A couple cop decisions were made that unnecessarily cranked the tension up a notch. Fortunately, the crowd remained chill.
No word, yet, on a decision or plan or funding ideas for The Wall. But we sure spent a lot of money on it today.
