On Sunday evening, protesters against the not guilty verdict for George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin shooting shut down the 10 Freeway in Crenshaw, a largely-minority area of Los Angeles. Some local reports say that police shot beanbags at the protesters to disperse them. Others suggest that police shot rubber bullets at the protesters around 7 p.m. PDT to disperse the protesters.
Around 200 protesters stood on the freeway and shut down traffic; they crossed the freeway median and shut down the northbound freeway as well. The freeway remained closed for approximately 20 minutes.
Reports stated that some of the protesters began throwing bottles at police near 39th and Crenshaw. Officers called for backup at the off-ramp and on-ramp at Vernon and Leimart to prevent further disruptions of freeway traffic.
According to NBC Los Angeles, “Several people were struck by rubber bullets in a shopping center near 10th Avenue and Washington Boulevard in Mid-City, said Jasmyne Cannick, who tweeted photos of the protesters and said she and an attorney were observing the rally.”
UPDATE: Crowds surrounded a TV truck from KTLA 5, as well as a police car. No violence was reported. Local reports on 39th St. suggest that protesters are throwing bottles at officers, forcing officers to move in.
Ben Shapiro is Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the New York Times bestseller “Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America” (Threshold Editions, January 8, 2013).