‘I was hitting the hornet’s nest’: Jailbird protester tells why he blocked Trump’s motorcade

MIAMI — It was, perhaps, a day of karma for Domenic Santana, whose very public arrest was captured by news cameras outside Miami’s federal courthouse on Tuesday and replayed on TV screens across the world.

“I just got out of jail,” Santana, 61, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Wednesday after his daughter posted his $2,000 bond. “I got locked up. Trump needs to be locked up, but I got locked up.”

It was just another spectacle, an only-in-Miami moment on a historic day.

Former President Donald Trump flew into town to plead not guilty to felony charges alleging he illegally hoarded classified documents and schemed to block the government from retrieving them.

Hundreds of Trump fans and a handful of anti-Trump protesters, including Santana, gathered outside the courthouse, clashing on occasion as police kept the peace.

Santana was hard to miss in his black-and-white striped jail costume. Throughout the day, he strolled through the sometimes rowdy crowd carrying an orange sign bearing the words “Lock him up” — an irreverent message directed at the former president. But within hours, it was Santana who would find himself behind bars.

The retired entrepreneur, a native New Yorker who now lives in Miami, deliberately ran into the street to block Trump’s motorcade not once, but twice — first for Trump’s arrival and again for his departure.

The first time, a Miami police officer escorted Santana back to the sidewalk. The second time, the father of three was not so lucky.

Santana ran into the street at 3:55 p.m. and held up his orange “Lock him up” sign as Trump’s motorcade barreled toward him. He was soon tackled by police and quickly placed under arrest as dozens of journalists and bystanders swarmed in to record the drama.

Santana spent a long night in jail.

His crime, according to official police documents: Disorderly conduct, resisting arrest without violence and obstructing traffic.

According to Santana’s arrest affidavit, an undercover police officer spotted Santana on the sidewalk arguing with Trump supporters right before Trump’s motorcade was set to leave the courthouse. The motorcade included more than 30 police motorcycles and around 10 SUVs.

After the motorcycles drove past, Santana ran into the street, held up his sign and blocked the motorcade. An SUV was forced to swerve to avoid hitting him, according to the arrest affidavit.

“The defendant’s reckless actions of interrupting the motorcade put the former president’s life in danger,” the affidavit says. “The defendant’s actions caused the public and media to run towards him, storming the street while the defendant yelled at the Trump supporters to entice them.”

When officers were making the arrest, Santana tensed up his arms and pulled away, the affidavit says.

Throughout the day, officers warned Santana to avoid Trump supporters to prevent further clashes, but he kept returning to the scene and “enticing the crowd,” police wrote.

Santana was the only spectator arrested on Tuesday, police say.

On Wednesday, Santana shared his memory of the arrest.

“They tackled me,” he said of the police. “A swarm of bees got me. I was by the Starbucks. I jumped the motorcade.”

Santana claims he caught sight of Trump smirking at him from inside the vehicle while he stood in the roadway.

“I put my sign in his face,” Santana said. “He was like, ‘Who is this nut?’ He looked at me like I was crazy.”

Santana admits to firing up the crowd before his arrest.

“I was hitting the hornet’s nest,” Santana said. “I am tired of America being blind and brainwashed.”

Santana says he’d do it all over again, despite the unpleasant night in jail.

“It was ice cold, colder than an operating room,” he said. “And that bologna sandwich tasted like liverwurst. The bologna was green. I asked for mayonnaise and they laughed at me. And there was no coffee. I need my cup of coffee in the morning.”

To recover, Santana hopes to wash away the entire memory.

“Oh my God,” he said. “I’m going to go get Epsom salts and take a nice hot bath.”

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan