Tense standoff in Chicano Park as conservative activists target murals
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A tense standoff in San Diego's Chicano Park erupted Sunday afternoon as a vocal crowd of protesters confronted a small group of conservative activists.
Word had spread that Roger Ogden, who runs the blog Patriot Fire, had been planning an event to call attention to the murals at Chicano Park.
In response, community groups, including the Chicano Park Steering Committee, organized what became the “Solidarity Rally.”
Hundreds of people showed up on Sunday afternoon, many carrying Mexican flags and anti-nazi signs.
Eventually, five people including Ogden, and LA-based conservative blogger Arthur Schaper, sat at a table on the opposite side of the park.
Anticipating a confrontation, San Diego Police officers formed a line as members of the rally started surrounding them.
Schaper claimed he was surprised by the response, telling 10News “there’s a lot of hostility I don’t understand.”
In a live stream video before the confrontation, Schaper described the park as “a section of San Diego where a bunch of radical leftists have tried to take over.”
Maria Urias attended the Solidarity Rally and didn’t buy Schaper’s explanation that he was just there to look at the murals.
“Anyone with common sense knows they’re not here to look at the art, “she said. “It’s very obvious what they were here to do. They were here to antagonize the community.”
About 10 minutes after the conservative activists showed up, officers decided to diffuse the situation by escorting them out of the crowd.
No arrests were made and no injuries were reporter, according to San Diego Police.