We’re wary of passing along media reports of violence at marches and rallies, considering that reporters have managed to mistake foam earplugs for rubber bullets in Ferguson and a small fire extinguisher for pepper spray outside the Republican National Convention.

However, the Los Angeles Times is repeating what witnesses said was the pepper-spraying of a pro-Trump marcher Saturday in Huntington Beach, Calif.

It’s a disturbing trend, following previous reports of “anti-fascist” protesters spraying people at the #March4Trump rally in Berkeley and at the riot that broke out outside a canceled Milo Yiannopoulos appearance … in Berkeley. (New York deserves a shout-out too.)

We sincerely appreciate the reporting, but it would be nice if journalists could get out of the habit of calling the people who organize rallies in support of the president “protesters,” and the people who show up to protest “counter-protesters.”

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We’re not advocating violence, but being hit over the head with a MAGA flag, no matter how hard, really has to sting. The LA Times reports:

Travis Guenther, whose wife was also pepper-sprayed, said he was among those who chased the masked man and struck him with a flag that said, “Trump, Make America Great Again.”

“I hit him five times with the flag over his head,” said Guenther, who yelled at the man as he was detained by law enforcement officials.

This was no day at the beach:

Here are a few photos of Trump supporters, since they were the reason for the rally in the first place. Even if you’re no fan of the president, it’s nice to imagine that people could assemble peacefully. Maybe again someday?

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Tags: antifaDonald TrumpHuntington BeachPepper Sprayrally