Trump Rally in San Diego: Supporters, Protesters, Police Crowd Downtown

• (Photo inside the San Diego Convention Center on Friday by Patch Editor Alexander Nguyen; Photo of Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore via Flickr)
  

SAN DIEGO, CA: At least one person was arrested Friday outside the San Diego Convention Center as Donald Trump wrapped up a rally. The person was among "several protesters who tried to breech a secured area," San Diego police said.

Prior to that, protests Friday near the downtown venue where the presumptive Republican presidential nominee spoke at a 2 p.m. rally were peaceful, according to San Diego police.

Amid a crowd of about 10,000 people inside the convention center and 1,000 people outside of it, no arrests had been made as of 2:30 p.m.

• UPDATE: Police Block Protesters After Trump Rally in San Diego; Arrests Made
• MORE: Trump Rally in San Diego Draws Thousands

Numerous opposition groups, from organized labor to immigration advocates, marched to the center and demonstrated.

Opening remarks ahead of Trump's appearance at the rally were given by fellow Republicans including former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and local GOP congressmen Darrell Issa and Duncan D. Hunter.

Earlier Friday, Trump supporters began gathering downtown in front of the center hours before the real estate magnate was due to campaign in San Diego for the first time.

San Diego police have been on hand since the early-morning hours.

The department announced its plans earlier this week to have a "significant presence" of uniformed and plainclothes officers at Friday's gathering.

Arrests for violence and unlawful assembly have been made outside Trump rallies elsewhere this week, such as in Anaheim and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said her department coordinated with state, local and federal agencies to promptly put a stop to any combative or destructive protesters or counter-protesters.

The city designated demonstration zones — one for Trump supporters and another for those who oppose the 69-year-old billionaire's presidential bid — on the northwest and southeast sides of the Harbor Drive center. Zimmerman said attendees' behavior would be strictly monitored, while ensuring their constitutional free-speech rights.

"And we are well prepared to respond," she said.

Protesters and supporters were encouraged to use public transportation to get to the event. The trolley system has a stop outside the convention center.

Stay with Patch throughout the day for coverage of the Trump rally in San Diego.

—City News Service contributed to this report.