Clowns clash with protesters at Ramos Bros. Circus in Southern California

Clowns clash with protesters at Ramos Bros. Circus in Southern California, A chaotic clash between clowns and animal rights protesters erupted under the big top at a circus in Southern California Friday night, according to reports.


Spectators gawked as the brawl broke out just after the Ramos Bros. Circus show got underway outside of San Bernardino, according to KNBC.

Circus workers allegedly tried to stop the activists, who had been picketing outside the property where the family-run show was performing, from forcing their way inside the tent.

Two protesters were arrested following the big top brawl and Ringmaster Oliver Ramos claimed his lip was split after he was hit in the face with his own megaphone.“All of a sudden when I turned around one of them jumped on top of my uncle — he's over 68-years-old — and they started beating on him and I reacted,” Ramos told KNBC. “When I pulled them off they hit me with a megaphone in the face and all these ladies started scratching me on the face.”

The activists, affiliated with the Direct Action Everywhere group, provided video to the station which showed them protesting outside the big top before the melee.

Nicholas Shaw-McMinn claimed the group was protesting peacefully, and that was the clowns that attacked unprovoked.

“While we were on the property the employees locked us on the property and wouldn't let us leave,” Shaw-McMinn said. “They assaulted ... multiple It was unclear what type of weaponry the circus workers wielded.

Protesters from the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, have targeted the Ramos Bros. in the past claiming they mistreat horses and use illegal exotic animals in their act. According to the PETA website, circus animals are trained using methods such as whipping, hitting, poking, and shocking with electrical prods.

But the ringmaster said it was the activists who were acting like animals.

“These people are just crazy fanatics … it has to stop,” Ramos said. “These people are getting out of hand.”
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