Protesters clash with police outside Trump rally in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Protests outside a Donald Trump rally in New Mexico turned violent Tuesday night as demonstrators threw burning T-shirts, plastic bottles and other items at police officers, overturned trash cans and knocked down barricades.
Police responded by firing pepper spray and smoke grenades into the crowd outside the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Protesters overran barricades and clashed with police in riot gear. They also burned T-shirts and other items labeled with Trump's catchphrase, "Make America Great Again."
People were seen jumping on police cruisers causing damage to window shields, reports CBS Albuquerque affiliate KRQE-TV.
After hours of protests, police declared the protests an unlawful assembly, KRQE says. Tensions reached a peak when demonstrators rushed the convention center's doors. Police barricaded the doors and protesters didn't get inside.
At least one person was detained, the station says, but arrests were made inside the convention center.
During his speech, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was interrupted repeatedly by protesters, who shouted, held up banners and resisted removal by security officers.
The banners included the messages "Trump is Fascist" and "We've heard enough."
At one point, a female protester was physically dragged from the stands by security. Other protesters scuffled with security as they resisted removal from the convention center, which was packed with thousands of loud and cheering Trump supporters.
Trump responded with his usual bluster, instructing security to remove the protesters and mocking their actions by telling them to "Go home to Mommy."
He responded to one demonstrator by asking, "How old is this kid?" Then he provided his own answer: "Still wearing diapers."
Trump's supporters responded with chants of "Build that wall!"
The altercations left glass at the entrance of the convention center smashed.
Tuesday marked Trump's first stop in New Mexico, the nation's most Hispanic state. Gov. Susana Martinez, head of the Republican Governors Association and the nation's only Latina governor, has harshly criticized his remarks on immigrants and has attacked his proposal to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The governor did not attend the rally and has yet to make an endorsement.
Trump read off a series of negative statistics about the state, including an increase in the number of people on food stamps.
"We have to get your governor to get going. She's got to do a better job, OK?" he said, adding: "Hey, maybe I'll run for governor of New Mexico. I'll get this place going."
The governor's office fired back, saying Martinez has fought for welfare reform.
"The potshots weren't about policy, they were about politics," said spokesman Michael Lonergan. "And the governor will not be bullied into supporting a candidate until she is convinced that candidate will fight for New Mexicans, and she did not hear that today."
Trump also hit Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, calling her a "lightweight" and saying her campaign organized a veterans protest at Trump Tower Monday, reports CBS News' Sopan Deb.
He also went after Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, calling her a "total failure" and again criticizing her for claiming to be Native American.
Warren, for her part, has been increasingly aggressive in taking on Trump, notes Deb. At the Center for Popular Democracy gala in Washington on Tuesday, Warren called Trump "small, insecure money grubber" who is "kissing the fannies of poor, misunderstood Wall Street bankers." Warren attacked Trump for continuing to refuse to release his tax returns.
"He didn't even get rich by building something terrific," Warren said. "He inherited a fortune from his father, and kept it going by scamming people, declaring bankruptcy, and skipping out on what he owed."
Trump supporters at the rally said they appreciated his stance on boosting border security and stemming the flow of people crossing the border illegally, but some said they were frightened by the violent protests outside.
Albuquerque attorney Doug Antoon said rocks were flying through the convention center windows as he was leaving Tuesday night. Glass was breaking and landing near his feet.
"This was not a protest, this was a riot. These are hate groups," he said of the demonstrators.
Karla Molinar, a University of New Mexico student, said she participated in disrupting Trump's speech because she felt he was attacking members of her family who are living in the country illegally. She said she believes Trump is using them as scapegoats for the nation's problems.