A large crowd of protesters gathered outside Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa on Friday afternoon after local officials rumored a possible vacation visit from Vice President JD Vance.
Orange County officials received intel of the VP’s visit to the area on Thursday. In an interview with KTLA 5, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said the VP’s visit “comes at a time when trust in government feels fragile.”
“I welcome any policymaker to visit, listen and witness the hard-working immigrant communities that make our county strong,” Sarmiento, who represents the county’s 2nd District, said in a post to social media. “I respect the office, but I can’t respect policies that hurt our people.”
Sarmiento’s district includes the city of Santa Ana, where immigrant communities have been hit with ICE raids since June. His jurisdiction stretches to parts of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Orange and Tustin, which have also suffered what some immigrant advocates describe as “racial profiling,” targeted at Latinos.
“There’s a huge contrast between the work we do on the ground — supporting families with food, resources, and hope — and an administration whose policies feel designed to crush the very communities we serve,” Sarmiento added.
The Santanero, a local Santa Ana newspaper, reported that Air Force 2 landed at John Wayne Airport on Friday shortly after 5 p.m. It was not immediately confirmed whether Vance was on the aircraft on official business following his latest visit to California when he attended a $2,500-per-seat conservative event at a high-end sushi restaurant in San Diego.
Neither a weekend schedule nor fundraising event were posted by the vice president’s office, which has led to speculation that Vance might be on a family vacation. Online footage began to circulate of a C-17 motorcade entering the Disneyland Park in Anaheim.
A crowd of protestors began to form near the park at 5:30 p.m. on Harbor Boulevard and Katella Avenue on Friday. Some individuals drove up to four hours to be at the protest, where many waved Mexican and California flags and carried handmade posters.
“I would tell [Vance] to go home,” one protestor told Fox 11. “We don’t want him here.”
The Anaheim Police Department did not immediately respond to a Times request for comment as of Saturday, but online footage showed police presence at Friday’s protest. No injuries or arrests were reported.
YouTuber Matt Desmond posted a short video to his channel, DisneyScoopGuy, Saturday morning of Vance and two of his children at Disneyland walking through the park and riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
The video showed security personnel roaming inside the park with explosive detective dogs. It was not clear if the agents are from the Secret Service, according to the City News Service.
Disney officials declined to comment on individual plans out of respect for all guests.
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