Danny Trejo involved in fight during LA 4th of July parade

Danny Trejo tells side of story after parade fight

Actor Danny Trejo is telling his side of the story after the "Machete" actor and his friend got into a fight with a crowd at an Independence Day parade in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES - Actor Danny Trejo was involved in a fight that broke out during a 4th of July parade in Los Angeles Thursday morning, with him and his friend being hit after confronting people who threw water bottles at him.

It happened at the Sunland-Tujunga 4th of July Parade. Trejo was a guest in the parade, driving his vintage car. That's when the car was hit by a water balloon from the crowd. Trejo got out of the car and approached the crowd.

"Somebody yelled, ‘It’s acid,' And I got out of the car to look, and. And then a balloon hit me. And then I saw the guy throwing it," Trejo said.

"He was more like confronting. It wasn't like he went there to hit somebody," said Arnie Abramiam, who caught the whole thing on his cell phone camera. "But then I think once he got hit, he was throwing punches."

That's when the fight started.

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"I hate bullies, and that's what bullies do," Trejo said. "You know, they're really, really cowards. I did this in the 50s, in the 60s, and you know how I'm still doing it? I'm 80 years old."

Both Trejo and his friend Mario Castillo were hit and knocked to the ground at points during the brawl. Video showed Castillo bloodied up at one point. Castillo was in the lowrider behind Trejo's before the fight started. He told FOX 11 he believed they were racially targeted.

The fight did end quickly, however. Police said the crowd had dispersed by the time officers got there, and Trejo had refused to press charges.

Abramiam said he felt bad about the whole situation.

"I apologize to Danny, I know you're a good man. You're a humble man. And thank you for taking your time and coming down to our 4th of July parade," Abramiam said. "And I'm sorry, on behalf of our community, we love you, we appreciate you, and we thank you."

In a statement to FOX 11, parade organizers called it "disheartening that this year’s parade was marred by disruptive events that took place between some participants and spectators. We do not condone this type of behavior," adding that "Trejo graciously accepted an invitation to participate in the parade… We would like to apologize to both Mr. Trejo and his associates that their show of good will was marred by the disrespectful actions of some of those along the parade route."