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Trump fans accuse Coachella mayor of sabotage after being left stranded in desert for hours

‘Someone needs to ask the Coachella mayor if he had anything to do with this.’

Photo of Mikael Thalen

Mikael Thalen

Donald Trump full speech at rally in Coachella, California

Trump rallygoers blamed Democrats after they were stranded in the California desert on Saturday night following a rally held by the former president.

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The event, located at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella Valley, started with organizers shuttling attendees in after requiring them to park their vehicles five miles from the outdoor venue.

Yet once the rally ended, not enough buses were available to return former President Donald Trump supporters to the parking lot. In a clip posted to X three hours after the rally ended, one attendee claims that only three of the dozens of buses needed were available.

In the video, the poster called it “chaos, absolute chaos.”

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“Somebody did something, we need to get to the bottom of this,” they added.

The issue, which, according to eyewitnesses, left many elderly Trump supporters stranded in the scorching desert, looks to have been due to poor planning by event organizers.

But, unsurprisingly, some Trump fans are claiming that the problem was purposely caused by California Democrats. In the video, the poster demanded someone call the mayor.

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That sentiment was echoed in a now-deleted post to X, with one attendee suggesting that Coachella’s liberal mayor could be responsible.

“It’s 10pm. Rally ended at 7pm. Thousands of people still stranded here waiting for transit back to the parking lots,” the user Wesley Johnson wrote. “Something has gone horribly wrong. Someone needs to ask the Coachella mayor if he had anything to do with this.”

Johnson stated that the event’s apparent logistical failure felt “nefarious and criminal” and suggested it may have been intended to start a “riot.”

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Another user described the debacle as a “sabotage,” once again shifting blame onto the local government.

“Coachella has sabotaged the rally. Thousands of patriots have been stranded and riots have broken out because there has been no structure for how to get out of the rally,” the user sensationally claimed. “The city was in charge and they hate trump!!!”

The Trump campaign thus far has declined to comment on the chaotic ending to the rally.

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And while many conservatives are making conspiratorial claims, opponents of Trump are noting that this is far from the first time such an issue has taken place.

In one example, buses failed to take Trump fans back to their vehicles following a 2020 rally in Nebraska, leaving them stranded.

The bus issue was just one of many that faced the Saturday night rally. Trump faced criticism for claiming that 100,000 people attended, although city officials say the venue has a 15,000 capacity.

Trump also stirred outrage when he issued what many saw as a call to violence by saying that a female heckler in the crowd should “get the hell knocked out of her.”

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The event also saw a Las Vegas man arrested on weapons charges. Law enforcement say they believe the man could have been looking to assassinate Trump, although the man later denied the allegations in a public statement in which he described himself as an ardent defender of the former president.


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