An estimated 8,000 people marched in what the Los Angeles Times characterized as “emotional” but peaceful protest against the election of President-elect Donald J. Trump after several nights of violent leftist protests across the country.
Though described as peaceful, at least one picture was posted online of a sign at the Los Angeles protest that read, “This Machine Kills Fascists.”
Marchers were monitored by “large numbers of police officers” according to the Times. Protesters chanted, “Not my president.” The Times recalled similar protests against congressional action on illegal immigration policy in 2006, which sparked some 500,000 people to march on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. California has some of the most liberal policies on illegal immigration in the nation.
Around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, KTLA reporter Steve Kuzj posted to Twitter:
Kuzj posted the following video of the protest to Facebook. About a minute and a half into the video, a black Trump supporter identifying himself as Gerald Pitts speaks with Kuzj. The Trump supporter is holding a Trump face mask in his hand and says of the protesters, “I think they are wasting taxpayers’ dollars. Look at all these police, look at all these resources that they’re wasting.” The Trump supporter goes on to allege that there are protesters upset that Trump will enforce immigration laws and “their checks gettin’ cut off,” a likely reference to entitlement programs. “He gonna secure the border, he gonna to do what he said we’d do around the world with China and everybody and America is gonna be a greater country,” the man said.
Pitts went on to tell Kuzj, “These are the same anarchists that did McArthur Park and sued our police department against illegal immigration. So America, don’t bite on what you seen. God bless you.”
As the video continues, some protesters are seen carrying Mexican flags. A couple of young men speak with Kuzj with faces covered from the camera, and some chants are heard of “Si se puede.”
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1144660328947396
Self-described activist, journalist and entrepreneur Sean Bonner posted photos of the Los Angeles demonstrations to Twitter from Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMumTLCA7I6/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMumWp1gx4p/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMumimAAi_J/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMumri0ghTd/
Around 1:30 p.m. Sonntags Zeitung reporter Fabian Eberhard re-posted video from the unverified account of Gay Days Los Angeles which claimed 10,000 protested (this is unverified, as the Times reported approximately 8,000):
https://twitter.com/FabianEberhard/status/797553572711952384
Jamal Bryant of Baltimore re-posted video said to be from in front of Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday from the unverified Twitter account entitled Rafael Elliot:
Protests also occurred in New York on Saturday, according to the Times.
A third night of anti-Trump protests late Friday and early Saturday morning saw around 150 Los Angeles area protesters arrested, some of whom threw rocks at law enforcement officers.
Such anti-Trump protesters were involved in violent altercations outside of Trump rallies during the 2016 presidential election cycle. Several Trump supporters outside of a rally in San Jose in June were attacked — some left bleeding, cornered, hit, or hit with eggs. Similar occurrences took place in other cities across the nation. It was later revealed in a Project Veritas undercover video that Hillary Clinton-linked Democrat operatives used “bird-dogging” to incite violence outside of Trump campaign rallies.
MoveOn.org has also been used to organize protests in the days following Trump’s election.
Photos of protesters from a demonstration in Los Angeles on Wednesday night showed many marchers brandishing signs from leftist organizations such as the ANSWER Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, as shown on KCETLink.
The Associated Press reported that at least 185 people have been arrested in Los Angeles out of over 225 people protesting across the country.
In Portland on Friday, one person was shot and injured at an anti-Trump protest.
In New York on Friday night, about 100 leftist protesters demonstrated outside Trump Tower with chanting against President-elect Trump and pro-abortion mantras, while others held “not my president” and anti-rape signs.
In Oakland on Thursday night, around 1,000 protesters marched but were monitored and somewhat controlled by police. Still the night saw acts of graffiti, small fires, windows smashed, and some graffiti that promoted violence such as “Kill Trump.”
ABC7 News posted this image from Los Angeles protests on Thursday night:
Earlier on Friday, a group of supporters of President-elect Donald J. Trump held a rally not only for the incoming president but for veterans as they waved signs and flags honoring veterans just outside an entrance to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in north San Diego county. Another part of the motivation behind the rally, that was planned in under two days, was to counter the anti-Trump protests that had marked the days following the election of Trump to the highest office in the land.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana
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