A demonstration against the potential influx of federal agents to curb illegal immigration in the San Francisco Bay Area took a violent turn when a truck attempted to breach a Coast Guard base, prompting gunfire from the Coast Guard.
The protest, which attracted hundreds of participants, was largely peaceful, blocking access to the base on Coast Guard Island. This occurred despite President Donald Trump's decision to halt his proposed deployment of additional federal agents to the region.
As reported by Western Journal, the peaceful protest was marred by an isolated incident. "At approximately 10:00 p.m. (PDT) on Thursday, Coast Guard security personnel standing watch on Coast Guard Island observed a vehicle driving erratically and attempting to back into Coast Guard Base Alameda," the Coast Guard detailed in a statement.
The driver ignored multiple verbal commands to halt the vehicle and instead put it in reverse. "When the vehicles actions posed a direct threat to the safety of Coast Guard and security personnel, law enforcement officers discharged several rounds of live fire," the statement added.
The incident was witnessed by KPIX photographer Rick Villaroman, who described the scene to CBS. "He just hit the gas and sped towards them," Villaroman recounted. "And thats when they opened fire. About 20 to 30 rounds."
He further noted that the driver of the vehicle, who was masked, parked the truck and left the scene on foot. No injuries or arrests were reported in connection with the incident.
The protest was in response to President Trump's plans to deploy additional federal agents to San Francisco to combat illegal immigration. However, Trump revealed on Truth Social that he had been persuaded by friends in the area to cancel the surge.
"The Federal Government was preparing to surge San Francisco, California, on Saturday, but friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress," Trump wrote.
Trump also shared that he had a conversation with Mayor Lurie, who asked him to give him a chance to address the issue. "I told him I think he is making a mistake, because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove," Trump stated.
He further added, "I told him, Its an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer but, lets see how you do? The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting Crime, especially since we began to take charge of that very nasty subject."
This incident underscores the tension between federal and local authorities over immigration enforcement, a contentious issue that continues to divide the nation. As the debate rages on, the people of San Francisco are left to grapple with the consequences of these policy disagreements, as evidenced by the recent protest and its violent turn.
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