By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-09-23 16:56:04 | Updated at 2024-09-30 13:33:04
6 days ago
An upscale retirement community in California has spiraled into chaos after two elderly women got into a fist fight over their political differences.
The two retirees at the Rossmoor community in Orange County came to blows on July 23 - the same day that president Donald Trump survived an attempt on his life.
The unidentified women were at the pickle ball court when the pro-Trump one reportedly blamed Democratic rhetoric for the assassination attempt while the liberal made an inappropriate comment about the shooting.
The retirees then began pushing and shoving each other before throwing punches, leaving clumps of hair on the ground, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Walnut Creek police were called to the scene and one person was cited and released after a 'pushing and shoving match' at the Tice Creek Fitness Center.
An upscale retirement community in California has spiraled into chaos after two elderly women got into a fist fight over their political differences
The two retirees at the Rossmoor community in Orange County came to blows on July 23 - the same day that president Donald Trump survived an attempt on his life. Stock photo of the community's fitness center
No charges were filed in the incident.
Rossmoor is a 55-and-over community with about 10,000 residents and a median home price of $595,000. Most of its residents were once at the top of their professional fields and are used to speaking their minds, per the Chronicle.
The fist fight prompted the community's managers, the Golden Rain Foundation board, to step in in an attempt to prevent future violence over politics.
The managers have banned protests in one corner near Rossmoor, as well as political commentary in the community newspaper.
New rules dictate that Rossmoor groups can only hold one demonstration every two weeks, though they can petition to hold more on an emergency basis.
The managers have banned protests in one corner near Rossmoor, as well as political commentary in the community newspaper
The demonstrations, moreover, must be held on a think strip of grass near of the community's clubhouses, and must feature a 'Please Do Not Honk' sign.
The changes sparked outrage in the senior community, who are now claiming their freedom of speech is being violated.
Retirees staged a protest in August demanding the new policies be overturned.
'They're infantilizing us, with the idea that we can't express ourselves. They know better,' resident Michael Goldberg said in an interview with CBS News.
The board's communication director, Ann Peterson, told the Chronicle that the pickle ball fight was just one of the incidents that led to the policy changes.
Peterson said political tension in the community had been mounting for months and that several residents had been confronted at the Rosmoor's farmer's marker over political columns or movies show in meetings.
The changes sparked outrage in the senior community, who are now claiming their freedom of speech is being violated
Some clubs had also 'received anonymous letters that were threatening in nature, again because of their political beliefs and some of the speakers that they were bringing into Rossmoor,' Peterson added.
However, for many of the outspoken residents of Rossmoor, the policies are impinging on their rights.
'We’re being treated like kids in a high school cafeteria where two people had a food fight, and now everyone’s on suspension,' said Katha Hartley, who leads the 1,240-member Democrat club in the community.
