MAGA Hat Man Sprays Bear Repellent At Protesters In Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, CA — A man in a "Make America Great Again" hat was in custody Monday after allegedly spraying bear repellent at anti-Trump protesters when a fight escalated between supporters and protesters of the president on the Santa Monica Pier Saturday.

Sherman Oaks resident David Nicholas Dempsey, 32, was also accused of violating his parole stemming from a prior weapons violation conviction, KTLA reported. He was being held without bail pending his initial court appearance, according to Santa Monica Police officials and Los Angeles County booking records obtained by the news station.

The clash occurred around 1:20 p.m. after a group protesting Trump and Vice President Mike Pence moved from the beach onto the pier, Santa Monica Police Sgt. D. Hicks told the Los Angeles Times. The protest was organized by the group RefuseFascism.org and coincided with other protests held across the country Saturday.

The Trump supporters were already on the Pier when the anti-Trump protesters got there, said Atlas Winfrey, an organizer of the anti-Trump demonstration.

"The Trump people wearing their MAGA hats and waving flags were there to intimidate and incite a confrontation," Winfrey said. "We told the dozens of anti-Trump protesters not to let them intimidate them. Our goal was to have a peaceful, non-violent protest.''

According to a video of the incident, a man is seen spraying the crowd with a large canister of bear repellent — at one point, he's seen walking up to a man who was lying on the ground, and spraying him directly in the face at close range.

The bear repellent sent the crowd scattering, and people can be heard screaming in the expletive-laden video.

Dempsey, who has a "fairly extensive" criminal record, was booked on suspicion of prohibited use of a tear gas weapon, assault with a caustic chemical and violating parole, police told the Los Angeles Times.

As a convicted felon, Dempsey is barred from possessing tear gas weapons, police told KTLA. He was convicted of burglary in 2006 and 2009, and was convicted of larceny and conspiracy in 2012, per court records obtained by the news station. Dempsey is scheduled to appear in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday.

After viewing video of the incident, police realized a second, older Trump supporter also might have sprayed the crowd, the Times reported. Police are still working to identify the second man, Hicks said.

Authorities said no protesters were seriously injured, and some received treatment at the scene for the effects of the bear repellent, which is similar to pepper sprays used by police.

City News Service contributed to this post; Editor's Note: A previous version of this article said the suspect was from Orange County. It has since been corrected.