On Saturday, two days after a grand jury indicted former President Trump, securing his place in history as the first former US president to face criminal charges, a small group of supporters gathered in Orange County to protest the indictment.

At the meeting at the Huntington Beach Pier

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Saturday afternoon, the group of about 40 people waved Make America Great Again flags and chanted “God bless Trump!” At one point, two protesters were hit on the head with skateboards during a collision.

Because the indictment remains sealed, the exact criminal charges are not yet clear, but the investigation submitted to the New York grand jury focused on Trump’s alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the final push of his 2016 campaign.

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The indictment marks just one of potential legal troubles for Trump, who has stated he will seek the presidency again in 2024. He also faces investigations into his alleged involvement in the 2020 election interference by his supporters and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as his handling of classified documents after leaving office.

Lawyers for the former president said in a statement that their client committed no crimes and that Republican allies have portrayed Manhattan Dist. considerate Alvin Bragg, whose office took the case to the grand jurors, as the far-left prosecutor charged with ensuring that Trump is not elected in 2024.

After being indicted, Trump, who is expected to face charges Tuesday, issued a statement characterizing the charges as “political persecution” and a witch hunt fueled by radical left Democrats.

Some protesters on Saturday repeated such language, referring to what they called a “false charge” and “just a sham”.

A few minutes after noon, two protesters were hit with skateboards. One of the victims, a man who had led the chants, was bleeding from the head but was still able to walk. The other refused to give his name to a Times reporter.

Huntington Beach police initially detained two men at the scene. Huntington Beach Police Department spokesman Jessica Cuchilla said one person has been taken into custody.

She said one of the victims was taken to hospital with minor injuries and the incident is under investigation.

One of the protesters, who identified himself as 18-year-old Joseph Edward of Redlands, said he witnessed the attack on his fellow protesters and said it was unprovoked.

It was meant to be peaceful,’ Edward said. ‘We don’t want this. We don’t want it to happen again.

Times staff writers Sarah D. Wire and Arit John contributed to this report.