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Huge Anti-Trump Protest That Walked Through L.A. Was Peaceful, Resulted In No Arrests
An anti-Trump protest on Saturday—arguably one of the most historic demonstrations in the city's history—saw a massive turnout of more than 8,000 people. Protestors met at MacArthur Park in the morning, then marched towards downtown Los Angeles as one massive throng. Demonstrators included Angelenos from all walks of life; as recorded on social media, the gathering spanned across different age groups and ethnic backgrounds.
Such a large gathering (and a political one at that) may raise concerns about safety. But Saturday's event was a peaceful one. The LAPD says that no arrests were made on Saturday, reports KTLA. Furthermore, there were no reports of vandalism. By contrast, another big protest in downtown on Thursday night had resulted in approximately 185 arrests, and another rally that spanned into the early hours of Saturday morning had ended with about 150 arrests at or around Grand Park. It should be noted that Saturday's protest—the one that started at MacArthur Park—was significantly larger than any of the various protests that had happened during the days right after election night.
Perhaps the reason for the peaceful showing was that it was, by comparison, more premeditated than the other rallies. Organized by Union del Barrio, and supported by a number of other activist organizations, Saturday's protest had a clear blueprint of action and intent. "We're not trying to do something illegal. We're not trying to vandalize. What we're doing is sending a clear message that we won't allow fear and hate to stop us," Ron Gochez, an organizer with Union del Barrio, told LAist on Friday. Though he did say that he could only account for his own group, and that Union del Barrio "can't control what everyone does." After Saturday's event, the group applauded what turned out to be a peaceful demonstration. "It was a militant and disciplined march with a clear political message," the group said in a Facebook post, adding, "Our action ended at 2:00PM with ZERO arrests, zero problems!"
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No one at the LAPD was immediately available for comment.
Filmmaker Al Kamalizad sent us the video above. It provides a ground-level look at the demonstration; at one point you can see protestors shaking hands with officers. Here are some more images of the protest on social media:
#losangeles #protest Fist. pic.twitter.com/wcjyTlRzyZ
— Michael Goldstrom (@goldstrom) November 12, 2016
3rd St. tunnel today #LosAngeles pic.twitter.com/U1LRMuWkRw
— Katie Shorey ✨ (@Katie_Shorey) November 12, 2016
More demonstrators are arriving at MacArthur Park. #antitrumprally #LosAngeles pic.twitter.com/k2wNyO8Be1
— Ruben Vives (@LATvives) November 12, 2016
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