Protesters Throw Burning 'Make America Great Again' T-Shirts

Inside, Donald Trump slammed NM's GOP governor
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 25, 2016 1:25 AM CDT
Protests Turn Violent Outside NM Trump Rally
A protester is removed during the Trump rally.   (Brennan Linsley)

Protests outside a Donald Trump rally in New Mexico turned violent Tuesday night as demonstrators threw burning "Make America Great Again" T-shirts, plastic bottles, and other items at police officers, overturned trash cans, and knocked down barricades. Police responded by firing pepper spray and smoke grenades into the crowd outside the Albuquerque Convention Center, the AP reports. During the rally, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was interrupted repeatedly by protesters, who shouted, held up banners, and resisted removal by security officers. The banners included the messages "Trump Is Fascist" and "We've Heard Enough."

Tuesday marked Trump's first stop in New Mexico, where Gov. Susana Martinez, the nation's only Latina governor, has harshly criticized his remarks on immigrants and his border wall proposal. Trump read off a series of negative statistics about the state, including an increase in the number of people on food stamps. "We have to get your governor to get going. She's got to do a better job, OK?" he said, adding: "Hey, maybe I'll run for governor of New Mexico. I'll get this place going." The governor's office fired back, saying Martinez has fought for welfare reform and "will not be bullied into supporting a candidate until she is convinced that candidate will fight for New Mexicans, and she did not hear that today." (Trump won more than 75% of the vote in Washington's GOP primary.)

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