Pepper spray used on Donald Trump supporters

Five people, including two young girls, have been pepper-sprayed during clashes between supporters and opponents of Donald Trump.

The clashes took place outside Anaheim City Hall, where police said 50 people confronted each other and one man used the spray against Trump supporters.

Police Sergeant Daron Wyatt said five people, including two girls, aged 11 and eight, were exposed to the eye-stinging spray. Three were treated at the scene by paramedics. Police are searching for the man, who fled the scene.

The confrontation occurred before the City Council was to discuss a proposed resolution to condemn what it calls Trump’s divisive rhetoric. No serious injuries, or arrests, were reported.

One woman, wearing a red ‘Make America Great Again’ hat, comforted the girls.

Speaking minutes after she was sprayed, one woman told TV news reporters: “I can feel it now. It’s pungent.”

Linda Reedy, of Laguna Niguel, a member of the pro-Trump group, We the People Rising, pressed an ice pack to her face after being hit by the spray. The anti-Trump group goaded her and her friends, and one man jumped on one of her friends, she said.

Reedy told the Los Angeles Times: “I just think they’re so out-of-control. I’m so sick of the anger in this country.”

The council motion said Trump’s remarks, which have been perceived as offensive to Mexican immigrants, Muslims, and other groups, are contrary to constitutional principles and do not reflect Anaheim’s “guiding principles of inclusiveness and kindness”.

The clash came as Trump swept to victory in five state primaries, boosting his hopes of clinching the Republican presidential nomination, without a battle, at the party’s national convention.