Police officials estimate around 3,000 protesters joined the demonstration in West Palm Beach on Saturday.
“It’s the largest protest that I have been involved in,” said Philip Salm with Palm Beach Police Department.
Despite a sudden surprise when protesters decided to walk onto Bingham Island, where Trump supporters were gathered, instead of stopping at the bridge there were zero incidents and zero arrests, according to police.
“People were walking by and telling us thank you,” Salm said about the atmosphere between protesters and police.
Even though the evening went smoothly, it’s still going to cost local law enforcement agencies money.
“There’s definitely manpower involved,” Salm said.
West Palm Beach Police Department said Monday they have spent $14,500 in overtime on Saturday.
Palm Beach PD is still calculating their final numbers. Down the line it could impact their budget.
“When we set up the budget in 2016 for 2017, did we think Donald Trump would be here every weekend? No,” Salm said. “Did we think that it would draw in crowds of around 3000 people? No.”
When it comes to the protests there seems to be no end in sight.
As the FAA announced a VIP flight restriction for the weekend, the unofficial announcement the President will be in the area, protesters are already gearing up.
“Every time he comes there will be a gathering,” Derek Cleveland with the Women’s March Florida said on Monday. “Hopefully they’re only getting bigger and bigger.”
Meanwhile, the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office spent $250,000 in overtime when Mr Trump was at Mar-a-Lago over Thanksgiving. The agency is still waiting to see if they will get reimbursed from the federal government.
