LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Los Angeles Police Department is expected Sunday to announce the number of people arrested after protesters threw chunks of concrete at federal officers in downtown Los Angeles after thousands gathered nearby for a “No Kings” day demonstration.
At least two people suspected of assaulting officers Saturday were arrested, federal officials told CBS2. They also told the station at least two officers were hit by concrete chunks and required medical care.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s incident commander declared a citywide tactical alert around 5:10 p.m. Saturday after a group of demonstrators started kicking a fence in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center at Alameda and Temple streets. Demonstrators were ordered to leave the area.
“Protestors on Alameda between Aliso and Temple have been warned multiple times by Federal Authorities to not attempt to tear down the gate and not throw items,” a post on an LAPD social media account said.
“Federal authorities are using non-lethal measures to move crowd back.”
Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles County, wrote on social media, “To those who were smashing concrete blocks and throwing them at our officers, we have you on video. We will find you and arrest you too. You’ve been warned.”
Earlier, Essayli had written, “My office has authorized immediate arrests for anyone assaulting law enforcement. You will be arrested and charged with a federal felony.”
Video from the scene showed LAPD officers on foot and horseback lining up to push protesters away from the location. Photos showed tear gas in use.
Around 7:25 p.m., the department posted on social media, “multiple arrests being made.” A police spokesman said it would likely not have exact numbers until Sunday morning.
The tactical alert was cancelled at 8:03 p.m.
A tactical alert allows the department to keep officers on duty past the end of their scheduled shifts.
Obscene graffiti criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement was painted on walls near the Metropolitan Detention Center. There was also graffiti saying “Kill Your Local ICE Agent” and “Free Palestine.”
The downtown No Kings Day rally at Gloria Molina Grand Park across from City Hall began around 2 p.m. Saturday, followed by a march at 3 p.m., part of a nationwide day of protests against the Trump administration.
The protest was peaceful until the late afternoon.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the LAPD had urged participants to keep the demonstrations peaceful and lawful.
“Peaceful protest is our constitutional right,” Bass wrote on social media. “When people come together to make their voices heard, that is democracy in action. Please stay safe and look out for one another.”
The LAPD posted the following on social media: “The Los Angeles Police Department fully supports the right of individuals to peacefully assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights. We are committed to ensuring that everyone can express themselves safely. We ask those that choose to assemble to do so in a manner that is lawful, safe and responsible.”
In anticipation of the crowds, Caltrans crews Friday placed security gates along on- and off-ramps to the Hollywood (101) Freeway in the downtown area.
During previous No Kings protests in downtown L.A., some participants moved onto freeway lanes, temporarily blocking traffic. Streets were also blocked in the Civic Center area, including sections of Broadway and Spring Street.
Some participants in the downtown march carried a large helium-filled balloon depicting Trump, along with handmade signs, during a roughly 1.5-mile march beginning on Spring Street. The organizers called for Trump’s impeachment and removal from office and the abolition of ICE.
“As unconstitutional deportations and inhumane treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers continue across the United States, and as illegal and unauthorized wars are perpetrated around the globe, Los Angeles unites in solidarity with a peaceful march and rally,” organizers said in a statement.
Scheduled speakers included actress Jodie Sweetin and Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest union, which represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staff members at colleges and universities, retired educators and college students preparing to become teachers.
“A lot of people want to help, they just don’t know where to start,” said Emily Williams, a lead organizer for 50501 SoCal. “No Kings is that starting point. It’s about community, about showing up for each other, and about turning concern into real action you can be part of.”
50501 SoCal is the Southern California chapter of 50501, which bills itself as “a peaceful, decentralized grassroots political movement with a mission to uphold democracy and constitutional governance.” Its name stems from “50 protests. 50 states. 1 Movement.”
50501 was among the national organizers of No Kings Day.
“The president thinks his rule is absolute,” the No Kings website stated. “But in America, we don’t have kings — and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption and cruelty. Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger. `No Kings’ is more than just a slogan; it is the foundation our nation was built upon.”
At least 40 demonstrations were held Saturday in Los Angeles County, including Burbank, Culver City, Hollywood, Long Beach, Malibu, Venice, Woodland Hills and outside Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes,
Doug Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris, spoke at the Malibu rally held near their home, the California Post reported. Comedian Kathy Griffin and Oscar-nominated actor Sam Elliott also attended the rally, the news site reported.
More than a dozen demonstrations were held in Orange County, including Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Westminster.
They were among more than 3,300 events nationwide with at least eight million participants, which organizer 50501 claims set a record for ” the largest single-day nationwide demonstrations in US history. The third No Kings saw more than one million more attendees and 600 more events than the October mobilization.”
Nearly half of the No Kings events were in traditionally “red” or battleground states, organizers said.
“This is what it looks like when a movement grows — not just in size, but in reach, in courage and in more people who see themselves as part of this movement,” the organizers said.
“The American people are fed up with this administration’s power grabs, an illegal war that Congress and the public haven’t approved and the continued attempts to stifle our freedoms. We’re not waiting for change; we’re making it.”
A spokeswoman for the White House, Abigail Jackson, said in a statement to The New York Times that “the only people who care about these Trump derangement therapy sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them.”
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