The road eventually was cleared, and protesters marched down the highway to the rally site, weaving among Trump supporters who booed and jeered them.
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Three people were arrested, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office said.
Several thousand miles away in NY, demonstrators also took to the streets to protest the Republican presidential hopeful, marching with a heavy police presence to Trump Tower, the Fifth Avenue skyscraper where Trump lives.
Enriquez described Shea Boulevard as the main artery into the area and the protesters’ actions were causing motorists to drive into oncoming traffic as they tried to get around them.
The normally quiet town of Fountain Hills got a change of pace Saturday morning during a campaign stop by GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump at Fountain Park.
The lake-and-fountain background proved a luxurious setting for Trump to share his message with supporters, who responded with cheers and signs.
Controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who openly endorsed and supports Trump, said he would do everything possible to ensure the event would go ahead – and Trump subsequently took the stage.
Such protests have become the norm outside Trump rallies. Immigration activists have protested Trump largely based on his remarks about race and building a border wall between the US and Mexico.
The demonstrators parked their cars in the middle of the road, unfurling banners with anti-Trump slogans and chanting “Trump is hate”. One protester, who cabled himself to a vehicle so that it couldn’t be towed, was arrested.
The crowd of mostly young people chanted and carried placards denouncing Trump.
Trump also was scheduled to appear at a Saturday afternoon rally at the Tucson Convention Center.
Arpaio, addressing a crowd in Tucson, Arizona at Trump’s third and final event Saturday, said he’s impressed with Trump’s assertive approach to campaigning, and said he’s sure that Trump will deliver on his promises, particularly his vow to build a border wall with Mexico.
They were arrested after police cut them loose.
“They came over here, trying to protest Donald Trump and the rally, trying to do the same thing in Chicago, try to shut down the rally and that’s what they’re trying to do”, added Martinez.
“I am not a drug dealer”, she said.
In typical form, Trump had the protesters kicked out, but urged the crowd of about 1,000 people to be nice to them.
“I love our police, but we should do a little bit more of that, you’d have a lot less protesters, you’d have a lot less agitators”, said Trump, who is favored to win his party’s nomination for the November 8 presidential election.
“10 minutes into Trump’s speech, two protesters, one wearing a Ku Klux Klan mask, were escorted out, and Trump changed his tone”, the Huffington Post reports.
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Speaking later at a rally in Tucson, Mr Trump described the protesters as “disgraceful” and said they were “representing [Democratic front-runner] Hillary Clinton”.
