Demonstrations for and against President Donald Trump are scheduled in the Southland Saturday, amid calls for the president’s ouster three days after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a melee that resulted in five deaths.
The group Refuse Fascism held a demonstration and “car caravan” starting at noon in Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles, part of a nationwide series of demonstrations. Protesters gathered downtown to put orange posters on their cars reading: “Trump/Pence Out Now” and “White Supremacy. Theocracy and Fascism Are Never Legitimate.”
Shortly before 3 p.m., a caravan of dozens of cars was shown on a video the group posted on Twitter heading west on Sunset Boulevard toward Beverly Hills.
The group made clear its ground rules in a Facebook post: “We will NOT be countering the Fascists in Beverly Hills. No mixing households in cars & Mask up! In order to be safe, MUST HAVE CAR TO JOIN.” The group was denouncing Wednesday’s violence and called for the removal of Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
“We’re aware of the protest, so we’ll have sufficient amount of officers (out there),” Officer Rosario Cervantes of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Section told City News Service on Saturday morning. By 3 p.m., she said there was no indication of any disruption downtown or along Sunset Boulevard.
At 3 p.m., supporters of the president were scheduled to hold a “freedom rally” at Beverly Gardens Park on Santa Monica Boulevard. The supporters started gathering at the park every weekend during the fall presidential campaign to express their support for the president.
Source: Pro and Anti-Trump Demonstrations Held in SoCal Following Riot at U.S. Capitol – NBC Los Angeles
