Danny Trejo Breaks Silence on Viral 4th of July Altercation With a Strong Message

Danny Trejo recently revealed his side of the story regarding the Fourth of July altercation he was involved in.

The incident took place on Thursday, July 4, in the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhood in Los Angeles, after water balloons were thrown at the lowrider he was driving in the parade. The 80-year-old actor spoke to Fox 11 Los Angeles on July 5, revealing the chain of events that led to the confrontation.

Trejo recalled he was invited by the Sunland-Tujunga Rotary Club to participate in the parade, showcasing three of his classic lowriders. However, the celebration took a turn when water balloons were thrown at the car he was driving. "We passed and bam! The car got hit by a water balloon," Trejo recounted. He continued, "Somebody yelled, 'It's acid!' And I panicked. I got out of the car to look, and then a balloon hit me, and I saw the guy throwing it."

Footage from the parade posted by TMZ showed Trejo approaching the individuals throwing the balloons. The actor swung at one of the perpetrators but was eventually knocked to the ground, where he was later hit with another balloon. "I hate bullies, and that's what bullies do," Trejo said to Fox 11, commenting on the incident. "[They were] really cowards. I did this in the '50s and the '60s, I'm still doing it, I'm 80 years old!"

Mario Castillo, a friend of Trejo's, also intervened after the Machete actor was knocked down but ended up being hit and knocked down himself. "We weren't there to start no trouble," Castillo explained. "We were just confronting the people that were throwing balloons. It was a grown man, skinhead, tattoos."

Reflecting on the incident, Trejo expressed his disappointment, saying, "It's sad that people can wake up in the morning and decide to go down and ruin something for everybody else. I am a protector. I will protect all my friends, always, and that's what I was doing."