Los Angeles area anti-Trump protests continued Saturday as a crowd estimated at up to 10-thousand people converged on MacArthur Park and embarked on an almost 4-mile walk downtown to the Edward Roybal Federal Building.
By 3 p.m., their numbers had shrunk to about 1,100, according to Officer Norma Eisenman of the LAPD’s Media Relations Section.
No arrests have been made, police said.
The demonstration — which started about 10 a.m. at MacArthur Park — was organized by the Union del Barrio political activist group and was joined by representatives of several other organizations.
The protests that have been on-going since election day led the Firefighter Cancer Support Network to postpone its 11th Anniversary Gala Dinner and Fundraiser Saturday night at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel downtown, Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
Organizers did not want to impact the protesters or the guests, Humphrey said.
Saturday’s demonstration marks the fourth’s consecutive day of anti-Trump protests on downtown streets, this one coming on the heels of a protest that started Friday night and ended early this morning.
In that protest, a throng estimated at 3,000 people marched through downtown Los Angeles into Westlake late Friday night and back again early this morning, assembling in Grand Park.
At midnight, the protesters — whose numbers had dwindled to less than a thousand at that point — moved into Grand Park, across from City Hall, according to LAPD Officer Tony Im.
The LAPD then issued an order to disperse and began making arrests, Im said.
As of 2 a.m., police had taken at least 150 people into custody, Im added.
The park was cleared at 2:45 a.m., according to LAPD Sgt. Frank Preciado.
The final tally of arrests was 187 people, plus eight juveniles, police reported.
The local demonstrations are among several that took place across the country. Protesters also demonstrated in Portland, Oregon where police made more than 20 arrests and used flash bang grenades and other less-than-lethal force to clear the streets.
Demonstrations also erupted in New York City, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Louisville, Kentucky and Baltimore.
An officer injured in an assault during Thursday’s demonstrations was released from a hospital, Im said. The suspect also was injured and police said he was arrested.
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.
— Staff and wire reports
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