A major protest against President-elect Donald Trump is set to take place in the streets of Los Angeles Saturday as police were monitoring the downtown area Friday on the lookout for any new gatherings.
Protesters organized by Union del Barrio and other community groups will gather at MacArthur Park at 10 a-m and march to the downtown federal building Saturday.
This comes after hundreds of protesters were arrested in anti-Trump protests early Friday. Police say most protesters were peaceful, but one group refused to budge from the area around Olympic Boulevard and Olive Street. The Los Angeles Police Department says one officer was assaulted and hospitalized.
The Los Angeles Police Department updated figures from the protests that took place Thursday night and carried over into Friday morning, noting that 226 people were arrested for blocking a roadway and failure to disperse and that 23 of the arrested were juveniles for curfew violations, said Los Angeles Police Officer Tony Im.
The officer injured in an assault during the demonstration was released from a hospital, Im said. The suspect was also injured and police said he was arrested.
The local protests were mirrored in large cities around the nation. However, conservative talk radio hosts lambasted the mostly young protesters, saying they should get over Trump’s election and understand that sometimes people win, and sometimes they lose.
While most protesters on Thursday were regarded as peaceful by police, officers gave dispersal orders to an aggressive group that refused to budge from the area around Olympic Boulevard and Olive Street around midnight, he said.
The protests prompted Metro to detour some buses off Spring Street.
LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman said there were reports of vandalism and graffiti in downtown but did not specify where.
“We’re here to protect everybody’s right to free speech but not when it impedes everyone else and not when it puts people in harm’s way,” said LAPD Public Information Director Josh Rubenstein.
Mayor Eric Garcetti said the right to free expression is “one of our greatest privileges as Americans,” but added that unlawful, dangerous behavior won’t be tolerated.
A large anti-Trump rally and march is scheduled to begin at MacArthur Park at 10 a.m. Saturday. Protesters plan to gather in the park and march to the downtown federal building.
— City News Service