An idyllic retirement community in California has been torn apart by politics – with wild reports of pickleball brawls and bust-ups at the local farmers market.
The gated paradise of Rossmoor in Walnut Creek, near the San Francisco Bay Area, is home to 10,000 seniors and boasts 27 holes of golf and eight tennis courts.
But residents have now found themselves living in a hotbed of political tension as the split group battle with the same partisan divide plaguing the nation.
The final straw came when Trump was nearly assassinated on July 13, sparking a violent scuffle between two female retirees on the pickleball court that very same day, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The gated retirement community of Rossmoor in Walnut Creek is home to 10,000 seniors and boasts 27 holes of golf and eight tennis courts.
Residents have found themselves living in a hotbed of political tension as the split group battle with the same partisan divide plaguing the nation
The two women reportedly came to blows over their political differences when a pro-Trump resident blamed Democratic rhetoric for the assassination attempt and a liberal resident made an inappropriate comment about the shooting.
Witnesses reported a scene of chaos, with one livid older woman confronting players and daring anyone to celebrate the attempt on Trump’s life.
The confrontation then escalated into a brawl between the woman and an elderly pickleball player, with reports of kicking, hitting, and hair-pulling.
The retirees began pushing and shoving each other before throwing punches, leaving clumps of hair on the ground, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
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 – but the county district attorney declined prosecution citing insufficient evidence.
This incident is just one example of the political ruckus that has erupted in Rossmoor.
Demonstrations, dueling columns in the weekly Rossmoor News, and heated disputes at the farmers market over cardboard cutouts of presidential candidates have now become increasingly common.
Rossmoor is a 55-and-over community, where the median home price is $595,000.
Most of its residents were once at the top of their professional fields and are used to speaking their minds, the Chronicle reported.
Rossmoor’s transformation from a conservative retiree haven to a politically diverse community reflects California’s leftward shift over recent decades.
The influx of aging Democrats, often bringing with them the activist culture of the San Francisco Bay Area, has led to the formation of new clubs focused on social justice issues.
But the demographic shift has left many long-time Republican residents feeling outnumbered and ostracized.
‘We went out to get out the vote in 2020 talking to registered Republicans, and one of the first things they would say is, ‘Oh, it’s good to see a Republican, I’m afraid to disclose who I am,’ said Bill McConnell, a member of the Republican Club.
The community’s newspaper, the Rossmoor News, has become a focal point in the ongoing tensions.
Columns on hot issues such as guns and immigration have triggered angry responses and even hate mail.
In an attempt to maintain civility, the paper’s editor, Ann Peterson, has limited the number of political columns, crediting difficulties in fact-checking the various viewpoints.
This decision, however, has been met with complaints of censorship from Republican columnists.
As tensions have escalated, protests on various issues, from xenophobia to the Israel-Hamas war, became more frequent.
Richard Rubin, a 71-year-old retired attorney who helps run the local Republican Club, summed up the situation.
‘I think the feelings are intense and they’re intense all over the country. This is sort of a reflection on that,’ he told the outlet.
Two women reportedly came to blows on a pickleball court over their political differences
Demonstrations, dueling columns in the weekly Rossmoor News, and heated disputes at the farmers market over cardboard cutouts of presidential candidates have become the norm
Rossmoor’s transformation from a conservative retiree haven to a politically diverse community reflects California’s leftward shift over recent decades (Pictured: The Rossmoor Community of Walnut Creek, California)
A clampdown on protests to diffuse tension has sparked outrage in the senior community, who are now claiming their freedom of speech is being violated
In response to the growing unrest, Rossmoor has intervened with a host of new measures and even launched a ‘Civility Task Force.
Since the pickleball fight, the community’s managers, the Golden Rain Foundation board, have banned protests in one corner near Rossmoor, as well as political commentary in the community newspaper.
Under the new rules Rossmoor groups can only hold one demonstration every two weeks, though they can petition to hold more on an emergency basis.
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.
However, these measures seem to have only ignited further backlash.
Michael Goldberg, a 74-year-old retired philosophy and religion professor and protest leader, told the Wall Street Journal: ‘They are treating us like ‘we’re the grown-ups and you’re the children.”
Rossmoor management said the decision to relocate demonstrations away from the community’s entrance was due to safety concerns after five incidents where drivers claimed they had got into accidents because they were distracted by signs or someone in front had braked too quickly, the outlet reported.
The board’s communication director, Ann Peterson, told the Chronicle that the pickleball 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.
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.
But changes have sparked outrage in the senior community, who now claim 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.
Katha Hartley, who leads the 1,240-member Democrat club in the community, added: ‘We’re being treated like kids in a high school cafeteria where two people had a food fight, and now everyone’s on suspension’.
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
Resident Michael Goldberg said in an interview with CBS News: ‘They’re infantilizing us, with the idea that we can’t express ourselves. They know better
Rossmoor is a 55-and-over community and has a median home price of $595,000
Many residents on both sides of the political divide are now expressing weariness regarding the division.
Some worry Rossmoor will gain a reputation for hostility when most interactions among residents remain cordial.
Ron Kalb, an 80-year-old Democrat, told the Wall Street Journal: ‘Some of us are concerned Rossmoor is going to get a reputation for a bunch of crazy, cranky people, when we mostly get along.’