Tourist crowds, oddly dressed superheros and slowly moving traffic were back to normal for a hot Hollywood summer day Sunday after angry politics temporarily trumped movies with at least two arrests.
The arrests came as supporters and foes of President Donald Trump faced off in competing demonstrations in Hollywood that temporarily shut down a portion of Hollywood Boulevard.
The arrests were made after an altercation between pro- and anti-Trump contingents outside a shopping complex at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue and near Trump’s star on the Walk of Fame Saturday.
“There are at least two people here that appear to have been arrested in connection with the protests in Hollywood,” said LAPD Sgt. Dave Tyson, watch commander at Hollywood Division.
“There are still protesters out on the street on Hollywood Boulevard, just west of Highland Avenue,” Tyson said at about 6:30 p.m. By 10 p.m., however, the area was jammed with tourists but no protesters could be spotted.
The demonstrations began about 1 p.m., when pro-Trump activists began gathering near Trump’s star in front of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center, according to police.
About two hours later an anti-Trump demonstration and march began near the same location.
Police were forced to shut down part of Hollywood Boulevard near the shopping center and position themselves in-between the counter demonstrations.
Meanwhile, protesters on both sides waved signs, chanted slogans and shouted at their counterparts on the other side.
An estimated 100 anti-Trump demonstrators marched down Hollywood Boulevard to Vine Street, then onto Sunset Boulevard, up Cahuenga Boulevard and then returned to Hollywood Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Several dozen pro-Trump people also trailed the marchers shouting slogans and waving signs in support of Trump.
Trump supporter and rally organizer Randi Berger of Encino told the Daily News newspaper she was calling on “all patriots” to help protect Trump’s star on the Walk of Fame.
In October, a man damaged the star with a sledgehammer and the star was also covered in stickers after the L.A. Pride Resist March in June.
Anti-Trump demonstrator Isabella Cardenas, told the Los Angeles Times, “We are here today because we are fed up with the Donald Trump regime.”
The local anti-Trump protest was organized by Refuse Fascism L.A., although an array of other groups were expected to take part.
Similar protests and demonstrations were also joined Saturday in cities across the country, including New York, Philadelphia, Houston and Atlanta.
— Staff and wire reports