A group of Trump supporters violently turned on a Black woman named Berlinda Nibo during a “Stop the Steal” rally near City Hall on Wednesday, according to photos, video and witnesses at the scene.
The LAPD says it’s investigating the alleged hate crime.
“One woman reached over and ripped her wig off of her head and began assaulting her,” said freelance photojournalist Raquel Natalicchio, who took still photos of the incident.
“People were hitting her with flagpoles — men specifically were hitting her with flagpoles — and punching her,” Natalicchio said.
In one of Natalicchio’s photos, someone appears to spray Nibo in the face with a chemical irritant.
Nibo told BuzzFeed News she feared the mob would beat her to death. She did not respond to our calls seeking comment.
Natalicchio said a number of LAPD officers who were stationed across the street did not intervene.
In another picture, a man is seen with his arms wrapped around Nibo from behind.
In a statement, the LAPD said the man “appears to have been a good Samaritan” who “carried her away from the hostile crowd and let her go.”
But Nibo told Buzzfeed News that as the man carried her she was sprayed in the face again with the irritant.
And witness Di Barbadillo told us it was her and two others who actually brought Nibo to safety.
“If he intended to help her, I don’t think he was able to follow through with that,” said Barbadillo. “We grabbed her out of there and walked her across the street.”
The LAPD is asking anyone with information about the incident to contact Central Area Detectives at (213) 833-3750.
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