Burlingame Anti-Trump Protester Accused Of Punching Deputies
BURLINGAME (CBS SF) – An anti-Donald Trump protester who was arrested outside of the California Republican Convention in Burlingame on Friday for allegedly punching and kicking sheriff's deputies made his initial appearance in court Monday, San Mateo County prosecutors said.
Emmanuel Ballesteros-Geronimo, a 27-year-old Watsonville man, did not enter a plea to three misdemeanor charges of battery on a peace officer, resisting arrest and ignoring a lawful order to disperse. He will return to court next Monday, prosecutors said.
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Ballesteros-Geronimo was among the protesters who gathered outside the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport hotel in Burlingame on Friday morning for the appearance of Trump, the leading Republican candidate for president.
Law enforcement officers gave multiple orders to disperse but he allegedly failed to comply and San Mateo County sheriff's deputies tried to arrest him, according to the district attorney's office.
Ballesteros-Geronimo allegedly tried to run away, prompting deputies to grab him. They fell to the ground with him and the suspect allegedly punched and kicked them in the hands and shin, prosecutors said.
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One deputy had to be hospitalized, not because of Ballesteros-Geronimo's conduct but because he got eggshell fragments in his eye, prosecutors said.
Ballesteros-Geronimo has been released from custody on $10,000 bail. His attorney Brian McComas declined to comment on the case.
Protesters attempted to storm the hotel ahead of Trump's speech, which prompted his motorcade to stop off the side of Highway 101 to drop him off. Trump hopped a fence and entered through the back of the hotel to make his appearance at the convention.
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"That was not the easiest entrance I've ever made," the frontrunner said Friday. "It felt like I was crossing the border actually. I was crossing the border, but I got here."
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Burlingame police said five people in all were arrested during the Friday protest, in which protesters threw eggs at officers and pushed them.
Editor's note: An earlier headline of this story erroneously said the protester entered a plea.
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