Rowdy Crowds At Trump Rallies Leave Cities With Large Security Bills

Police on horseback and on foot clear the anti-Trump demonstrators after a Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump rally at the Pacific Amphitheatre on Thursday, April 28, 2016, in Costa Mesa, Calif. Hundreds ... Police on horseback and on foot clear the anti-Trump demonstrators after a Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump rally at the Pacific Amphitheatre on Thursday, April 28, 2016, in Costa Mesa, Calif. Hundreds of people, most of them apparently anti-Trump protesters, blocked an intersection and some jumped on cars outside the Orange County Fairgrounds, where Trump gave a speech to thousands Thursday night. (Michael Goulding/The Orange County Register via AP) MAGS OUT; LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT MORE LESS
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Large crowds and protests outside of Donald Trump rallies across the country have left cities paying large bills for police overtime and staffing, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

For example, the city of Costa Mesa, California, spent $30,000 on security for an April Trump rally at which violent protests resulted in several arrests and damaged police cars. The city asked the Trump campaign to pay $15,000, but the campaign has not offered to help and they are not obligated to do so, according to Bloomberg News.

“It’s a venue where politicians typically come, and it’s literally never been an issue, Costa Mesa city spokesman Tony Dodero told Bloomberg News.

Law enforcement officials told Bloomberg News that the Trump campaign’s tendency to sell more tickets than there are seats available results in large crowds outside of venues, sometimes ending in clashes with protesters.

Matt Rokus, the deputy police chief in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, said that for a rally in the city, the Trump campaign sold 6,000 tickets for a venue that seats 1,800.

“Duh, there’s going to be a problem,” Rokus told Bloomberg News. “You got a bunch of people who drove hours to get there thinking they had a seat.”

The Trump campaign did pay for extra security costs in at least one city in which the presidential candidate held a rally. The campaign paid for about $15,000 in police overtime for an event in La Crosse, Wisconsin, according to Bloomberg News.

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