Analysis: Trump protesters could bring unintended consequences for GOP race

LOS ANGELES — The protests outside Donald Trump's rally in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Thursday night appear to point to an upcoming month of activism by Latinos and others as the GOP front-runner tries to seal the presidential nomination in the state.

Hundreds of demonstrators filled the street outside the Orange County amphitheater where Trump held a rally Thursday night, stomping on cars, hurling rocks at motorists and forcefully declaring their opposition to the Republican presidential candidate. At least 17 were arrested.

Several days earlier, pro- and anti-Trump protesters clashed outside Anaheim City Hall, where the council considered a resolution condemning Trump.

While the billionaire businessman has faced protests elsewhere, California could prove to be potent ground for demonstrators because of its large Latino population and Trump's negative comments about immigrants in this country illegally.

'I'm protesting because I want equal rights for everybody, and I want peaceful protest,' said 19-year-old Daniel Lujan, one of hundreds of protesters in Costa Mesa on Thursday.

Southern California's Latino community has a long history of street protests, dating back to the famous Chicano Moratorium march against the Vietnam War in 1970.

A decade ago, roughly half a million immigrants and their supporters took to the streets of Los Angeles decrying federal bills that would criminalize providing food or medical services to immigrants in the country illegally and build a wall along the southern border of the U.S.

A USC/Times poll found that 77 percent of Latinos in California have a negative view of Trump. Yet among Republicans, Trump is ahead in that poll and several others.

Trump faced protests at other events in California several months ago, but nothing of the size of the Costa Mesa event.

Traffic came to a halt as protesters walked in the roadway, some waving American and Mexican flags. Protesters smashed a window on at least one police cruiser, punctured the tires of a police sport utility vehicle and at one point, tried to flip a police car.

Video footage showed some demonstrators hurling debris at a passing pickup. One group carried benches and blocked the entrance to the 55 Freeway along Newport Boulevard, with some tossing rocks at motorists near the on-ramp.

It's hard to know how such protests will impact the GOP race.

Some conservatives pointed with outrage to the use of the Mexican flag during the Costa Mesa protest.

During the anti-Proposition 187 rallies of 1994, the flying of the Mexican flag may have increased support for the initiative, which would have denied public services to immigrants here illegally. It was passed by voters but overturned by the courts.

Protesters carrying the Mexican flag during the 2006 protests also sparked debate.

As those protests continued, there were fewer Mexican flags and more American flags. That happened in part because Spanish-language DJs who promoted the demonstration during their radio shows urged participants to carry American flags to show their patriotism.

'If we want to live here, we want to demonstrate that we love this country and we love the American flag,' DJ Eddie 'El Piolin' Sotelo said at the time.

Although Orange County was once a white, conservative bastion, its demographics have changed in recent decades. It's still reliably Republican, but GOP registration has declined significantly. The county's population has diversified, with an influx of Asian and Latino residents slowly diminishing the political clout of white voters.

'This is the anger people have against Trump,' said Jose Cruz, 21, as he pointed to the protesters running in the middle of the street.