Danny Trejo is speaking out following a Fourth of July parade brawl he was involved in on Thursday.
“It’s sad that people can wake up in the morning and go down and ruin something for everybody else,” he told local Fox 11.
“I am a protector. I will protect all my friends, always, and that’s what I was doing,” he added.
Video uploaded to Facebook showed the 80-year-old actor pushing and shoving through a crowd during a parade in Sunland-Tujunga, just outside L.A.
‘MACHETE’ ACTOR DANNY TREJO IN NASTY JULY 4TH BRAWL AFTER BEING HIT BY WATER BALLOON
Fox 11 also obtained video showing Trejo confronting a group of people after being hit with water bottles and water balloons.
The Sunland-Tujunga Rotary Club invited Trejo to ride in the parade in one of its classic low-rider cars, and Trejo told Fox 11 that all was going well “and then BAM, all of a sudden our car got hit by a water balloon.”
Trejo said he got out of the car because “[s]omebody yelled it was acid, I thought they messed up Tony’s car,” also alleging there was a chlorine smell.
“Somebody yelled, ‘It’s acid!’ And I panicked, I got out of the car to look and then a balloon hit me, and then I saw the guy throwing it,” he continued.
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The “Machete” star added, “I hate bullies, and that’s what bullies do. [They were] very really cowards. I did this in the ‘50s and the ’60s, I’m still doing it, I’m 80 years old!”
A representative for Trejo did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The actor’s friend, Mario Castillo, was in the low-rider behind Trejo’s, and feels they were racially targeted, according to Fox 11.
“We weren’t there to start no trouble. It was, we were just confronting the people that were throwing balloons. It was a grown man, skinhead, tattoos,” Castillo alleged.
Castillo had visible bruising around his eye in the interview.
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In a video obtained by the outlet, both Trejo and Castillo are seen being knocked to the ground.
“He didn’t seem hurt. I think he was more, I don’t think he was physically hurt, I think he was upset,” witness Arnie Abramiam, who caught the incident on his cellphone camera, told Fox 11 previously. “He was angry, and angry as a mask for pain. But at the same time, I think the blood was boiling.”
“I apologize to Danny, I know you’re a good man. You’re a humble man,” he added. “And thank you for taking your time and coming down to our 4th of July parade. And I’m sorry, on behalf of our community, we love you, we appreciate you, and we thank you.”
Fox News Digital’s Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.
