Bernie Sanders’s Secret Service detail got a workout Monday night when agents rushed in to pull Sanders away from a podium after protesters charged the barricades at an Oakland, California, rally. At least four protesters were intercepted and arrested, reports CNN, after they tried to push toward the candidate.
Sanders, who’s closing in on Hillary Clinton ahead of next week’s California primary, was totally okay. The crowd of about 20,000 booed the protesters and erupted into cheers of “Bernie, Bernie” after Secret Service agents pulled the unruly audience members away. Sanders pressed forward with his speech after the interruption. “We don’t get intimidated easily.” He recovered by watching game seven of the Golden State–Oklahoma City series with supporter Danny Glover. (The locals triumphed.)
According to NBC News, the people arrested belonged to the animal-rights group Direct Action Everywhere. About two dozen activists had showed up at the rally. The group released a statement after the chaos saying it’s not anti-Sanders; it just wants the candidate to embrace a stronger animal-rights and anti-factory-farming platform. Per the group, the members weren’t trying to protest so as to persuade Bernie, or, as the group outlined its strategy, “[A]ctivists do not protest at Bernie Sanders rallies in opposition to Sanders himself, but rather to pull Sanders in their direction.”
Here’s the full video of the incident:
