Danny Trejo Engages in 4th of July Altercation at Age 80
“Machete” star and Trejo’s Tacos entrepreneur Danny Trejo found himself in an unexpected brawl during a Fourth of July celebration in Sunland-Tujunga. The incident occurred on Thursday during a parade hosted by a local Rotary Club, where the 80-year-old action star was a guest. Trejo was riding in a white, convertible low-rider when someone threw a water balloon at his car, as captured in videos shared on social media.
The “From Dusk Till Dawn” actor stepped out of his vehicle to confront a group of attendees on the sidewalk. The situation escalated when another water balloon was thrown at Trejo’s head, prompting him to exchange punches with a person wearing black shorts, a sleeveless shirt, and a hat. Trejo fell on his back off the sidewalk, and the person also hit Trejo’s friend Mario Castillo, who was left bloodied after the incident, according to video footage published by KTTV Fox 11.
Video showed Trejo getting back to his feet, grabbing a folding chair, and throwing it into the brawling crowd. TMZ published another perspective, showing someone holding Trejo back from the crowd. “Trejo pushed women out of the way to get to those guys,” Sunland-Tujunga resident James Spishak told The Times. “There were kids there. It could’ve gotten really ugly. It would’ve never happened if he stayed in the car.” Spishak said Trejo slapped him when he tried to break up the fight. “I love Danny Trejo, I think he’s a cool dude, but he needs to know when to say ‘no,’” Spishak added.
Representatives for Trejo did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment. The Sunland/Tujunga/Shadow Hills Rotary Club, which hosted the Fourth of July celebration, also did not immediately respond. “Everybody was holding him back,” said Sunland-Tujunga resident Arnie Abramyan, who shared parts of the brawl on Instagram. “There were a lot of people between him and the people who threw the water balloon. He was just upset. He was yelling, screaming, mad and was trying to get to the guy who threw the water balloon.”
Abramyan, president of the Sunland-Tujunga Chamber of Commerce, told The Times that Trejo was participating in the neighborhood’s annual Fourth of July parade for the first time. Abramyan, whose company Arnieville is one of the sponsors of the event, said there was a designated area on the parade route where people could use Super Soakers and water balloons, but Trejo wasn’t at that part of the route when he was hit with a water balloon. Los Angeles police were responding to a different incident nearby and came to the site of the brawl after it happened, Abramyan said. He added that officers told him Trejo did not want to press any charges. Abramyan said he and the rest of the Chamber of Commerce had an emergency meeting after the parade to figure out how to apologize to Trejo. “I doubt he’ll participate [in the parade] again, but we definitely want to make amends and show him love and respect,” Abramyan said.
The actor got into a fight with parade attendees in Los Angeles after someone appeared to throw water balloons at the car he was in. Danny Trejo was involved in a physical altercation with attendees at a Fourth of July parade. The Machete actor, 80, appeared to get into a fight at a parade in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sunland-Tujunga on Thursday, July 4, as videos published by TMZ and elsewhere on social media show. Videos show Trejo exiting his vehicle after a water balloon hits the car while he participated in the parade with a vintage convertible. People standing nearby the actor’s vehicle can be heard yelling “No water!” to a crowd out of view before Trejo gets out to confront a group of people watching from the sidewalk.
The actor appeared to throw a punch in a fight with the crowd and was briefly knocked to the ground. He could also be seen tossing a nearby lawn chair as people converged to try to break up the fight. A rep for Trejo did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. According to Los Angeles-area ABC7 Eyewitness News, the incident lasted roughly 10 minutes before police arrived and the situation cooled down. Prior to the altercation, Trejo appeared to be stalled in his car and taking selfies with attendees along the parade route, per footage published by ABC 7. The outlet spoke with one witness, who said water balloons are common at that parade, but that Trejo seemed upset “because usually people don’t throw water balloons at fancy cars when they come by.”
Trejo doesn’t appear to have addressed the incident on his social media, though he wrote about the holiday on Instagram, “Have fun tonight but make sure to take care of your dogs! Happy #4thOfJuly!” The star recently revealed that his chihuahua Dixie died on July 1. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. PEOPLE spoke with Trejo on the eve of his 80th birthday in May. At the time, the actor reflected on his troubled childhood growing up in California and a number of jail stints before he took up acting in the 1980s. “Anytime somebody asks me did I ever imagine, I never imagined getting out of prison,” he said at the time. “The last thing I heard the parole board say in 1969 was, ‘Bring us back a life sentence. We’re sick and tired of you.’ I never went back. I mean, every day, every day for me is just a blessing.”
Danny Trejo’s age won’t hold him back from a fight! During the Fourth of July parade in L.A. on Thursday, one observer allegedly threw a water balloon at the 80-year-old actor’s convertible, igniting a multi-person brawl in the middle of the parade route. The incident occurred in the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhood in L.A. as the star was driving his Corvette. The water balloon apparently hit the windshield of the sports car before the celeb exited the vehicle toward the perpetrator. Trejo, who wore a white long-sleeve shirt and black pants, threw a punch at the individual, which began the brawl. But Trejo’s punch missed the person who allegedly threw the balloon, leading the Spy Kids alum to be pushed to the ground. From there, others began to jump into the altercation, with some holding the men back as the alleged thrower hurled several punches at a second man.
At one point, Trejo was seen grabbing a folding chair and throwing it at the fighters before a woman came up behind him in an attempt to split up the brawl. In the video, paradegoers can be heard pleading for the men to stop fighting as there were children around. While it is not confirmed who was in Trejo’s car, the video displayed two young kids being pulled away from the Corvette. The entire incident lasted about 30 seconds before bystanders eventually broke up the feud. Police reports revealed that no one was arrested and the crowd dispersed upon their arrival, according to TMZ. Trejo himself spoke to the outlet, in which he defended his actions. The father-of-three said the water balloons being chucked at his Corvette was “childish” and that those who threw them were “cowards.” Trejo also assured that he was not hurt during the altercation.
In response to the shocking incident, fans of the actor shared their thoughts on the situation. “Apparently, he asked to stop while he was taking pictures with fans so I get why he had enough, but d— at 80 probably wasn’t the move,” one person claimed on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Why would anyone want to be mean to Danny Trejo?” a second user wondered, while a third noted, “Danny still trying to throw down at 80 years old, he still has no f—- to give…” Others shared their staunch support for Trejo, with one individual writing, “He is great,” as a second said, “God bless him!!”
Danny Trejo got into an altercation on the 4th of July during an Independence Day parade in California. According to TMZ’s footage of the incident, the 80-year-old actor — who is known for playing tough but lovable characters — is riding in the passenger seat of a top-down convertible when an onlooker throws a water balloon at him. (“No water!” the other patrons repeatedly yelled seconds before the parade-goer tossed the balloon.) Trejo immediately gets out of the car and walks directly into the crowd. Upon spotting the alleged perpetrator, the Spy Kids actor appeared to swing at the person. This immediately caused a ruckus, with the entire crowd yelling and trying to break up the fight. “There’s f***ing kids here!” someone could be heard yelling in one of the videos. Trejo fell onto his back during the altercation but got back up. Per TMZ, he was again pelted with another water balloon and at one point allegedly proceeded to throw a chair. In one clip, people are holding Trejo back from engaging any more. According to the outlet, police arrived on scene but no arrests were made.
While Trejo has an extensive film career spanning decades — including major roles in Machete and From Dusk Til Dawn — prior to his time in the spotlight, he served years in prison for multiple offenses, including violent crimes. “Everything I experienced in prison, and the attitudes, it comes out” in his characters, the actor told The Daily Beast in 2021. “A director once said to me, ‘How do you do this? You go from being a maniac to running over and playing with your kids.’ I said, ‘I’ve been that maniac, and I’ll go there, but I won’t stay there,'” Trejo said. “I won’t stay in that moment too long, because being in that moment you’re willing to hurt somebody.” Trejo went viral just days before the 4th of July incident for sharing a photo with his tiny dog who passed away. “Hold your babies tight for me please. Today I lost my little Dixie Wixie,” he captioned the image.
Source: The Times, KTTV Fox 11, TMZ, PEOPLE, ABC7 Eyewitness News, The Daily Beast
