A local bus driver transporting attendees to and from former President Donald Trump's rally claims he was assaulted by stranded MAGA supporters in California's Coachella Valley on Saturday.
The rally, which had an estimated attendance of 15,000, was hosted at Calhoun Ranch, an outdoor venue in Coachella. The driver, who wished to remain anonymous, had been contracted by LA-based company Coach USA to transport attendees to and from the event in buses.
Trump left his rally goers stranded in Coachella Valley while he skirted away in his motorcade and private jet. This is an actual video posted by one of the attendees. #CoachellaRally pic.twitter.com/Q98zp5r9Xi
— Gerren Peterson (@GerrenPeterson) October 13, 2024
Local drivers had initially been hired to operate buses from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The drivers were reportedly told that no more attendees would need to be bused to the venue from the parking lot after 2 p.m., but this was not enforced, and so the crowd continually grew larger.
"At the beginning, everybody was really conforming to what they needed to do. But towards the end is when everything changed. They started pushing. They started shoving. They started, you know, throwing stuff," the driver told KESQ. "I think the overwhelming crowd of people even inundated the law enforcement. People were tired and hot, they probably didn't have a lot to eat, a lot of factors created this frustrating mess for attendees."
Following the end of the rally, attendees noticed that the number of buses transporting people to and from the venue was slowly decreasing, leaving them stranded at the venue.
"There used to be like 20 buses when we were being brought here, but now there are only three buses," said attendee Wesley Johnson in a video posted to social media. "It's chaos, absolute chaos. All of us are stranded here."
The driver described the unruliness of the crowd as he returned to transport people out of the venue, noting that transportation for the event slowed down traffic by traveling in the same direction. He reported hearing a woman fall over at the back of the bus, and going to check on the situation.
People were stranded at the #Trump rally waiting for shuttle buses to get to their cars 5 miles away in #Coachella. Then it got pitch dark in the desert. #CoachellaTrumpRally pic.twitter.com/uHlXNbFTF8
— barbaradavidson (@Photospice) October 14, 2024
"I walked towards the back of the bus, and I got to the middle of the bus, and I had a slam or a slap against my left side of my face. I was nearly knocked down, and I came to my senses and realized my face was swelling up," he said. "My eye I couldn't see, and then my nose started bleeding heavily. I turned around and whoever hit me was already gone."
"I think my military training allowed me to refocus and get myself in a place of safety and get it called in so that no one else got hurt," continued the driver, who is an Army Veteran.
The driver was taken to Eisenhower Emergency room for his injuries after dropping off passengers.
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