Danny Trejo was riding in a vintage car during a Fourth of July parade when a man threw a water balloon in his direction.
Danny Trejo was involved in a brawl that broke out Thursday during a Fourth of July parade after a water balloon was thrown in his direction.
The Machete star was a guest of honor and riding in a vintage convertible as part of the Sunland-Tujunga Rotary Club's Annual 4th of July Parade in Sunland, California. But according to multiple reports, a spectator threw a water balloon at the convertible, bringing the parade to a screeching halt.
Video footage circulating on social media shows the 80-year-old actor step out of the car and confront a man. Punches were then thrown, and Trejo was knocked to the ground, triggering a full-on melee. You can see in the video another man later identified as Mario, Trejo's best friend, also get knocked down. Mario later appears bloodied with a massive cut on his face.
The dust ultimately settled thanks to bystanders de-escalating the brawl. It's been reported that police -- who were nearby patrolling the parade -- arrived shortly after the brawl ended. Trejo chose not to press charges.
According to one eyewitness who spoke to ABC7, throwing water balloons at cars in the parade is sort of a tradition, but it's understood that water balloons are not to be thrown at the nicer cars, which is what apparently set off Trejo.
It's been a rough week for Trejo. Earlier this week, the actor shared on Instagram that he lost his chihuahua, Dixie Wixie. He shared a photo of his pooch on Instagram and captioned the post, "Hold your babies tight for me please. Today I lost my little Dixie Wixie."
Trejo is known for appearing in such films as Desperado, Heat, From Dusk till Dawn, Con Air and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. But he's best known for starring as Isador "Machete" Cortez in the Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis-directed films Machete and its sequel, Machete Kills.
The actor, who is also the face behind the popular Los Angeles establishments Trejo's Tacos and Trejo's Cantina, has been open about his sobriety and doing hard time in prison. He's been sober since 1968, just one year before he was released from prison. Since then, Trejo's dedicated his life to serving others.
Trejo's life story inspired the 2019 Brett Harvey documentary. Two years later, Trejo debuted his memoir, Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood.
"All I can say is that the book was just an avenue to freedom, complete freedom, because we're only as sick as our secrets, that's it," he told ET in 2021. "All I did was, I just let go of lot of secrets that I had never discussed with anybody, my mom, my dad, that kind of stuff."
RELATED CONTENT:
