Three protesters were arrested, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.
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Anti-Trump protesters blocked a highway leading to a campaign rally for Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump.
The disruption occurred well after large crowds lined up to get into the Fountain Hills rally, where Arpaio is also scheduled to speak alongside Trump.
While speaking in Arizona at one of its casino resorts, Bernie Sanders, a Democratic candidate for his party’s nomination, criticized Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for picking on those with no power. An event in Chicago a week ago was canceled over security concerns after protesters, many of them university students, swarmed the venue.
Donald Trump’s Arizona rally starts at 1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. MST), and viewers will be able to catch all the action through live-streaming video (which can be found below).
“My secret weapon is just like Donald Trump: Go to the people”, Arpaio said in an interview. “We’re going there to protest and say that Trump politics are not welcomed here”.
In Fountain Hills, thousands gathered for the outdoor rally in the suburb where Arpaio lives.
Trump is already being backed by former Arizona Gov. Jan. Brewer.
Earlier this week, one leading pro-immigration-rights group, Puente Arizona, denounced Trump as a “racist” and organized the border state protests via Facebook.
Trump rallies have grown increasing unruly as the months-long campaign has progressed. At DTR Landscape Development LLC, the firm’s president, Dick Roberts, says he has increased his starting wage by 60% to $14.50 an hour because he is having trouble finding reliable workers.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has seized on the Trump-Arpaio parallel in a Spanish-language radio ad pitching Clinton as the best candidate to beat Trump.
An aide for the governor, who has not officially endorsed Trump, promised to deliver the message.
It “is going to be a lot of fun taking care of business there”, he added.
Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers pulled up to assist deputies at Shea Boulevard and State Route 87, where protestors, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, maneuvered their vehicles to block traffic.
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Trump rallies are notoriously rambunctious and often face interruptions from a number of protests erupting in the audience.
