On Tuesday evening (May 3), LAPD officers clashed with protesters in downtown Los Angeles. The event was fueled after leaked documents surfaced Monday stating that five Supreme Court justices had voted to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling made in 1973.
The rally began at a federal courthouse at 1st and Broadway and was scheduled to end at Pershing Square.
Sources say around 400 protesters gathered to speak out against the draft that was obtained by Politico.
Attendees marched with signs that read, “We need to talk about the elephant in the womb” and “Pro-woman, pro-child, pro-choice.”
36-year-old Lauren Selman was one of the protesters at the rally. She spoke with the press on site saying, “This is a fight that was my grandmother’s and my mother’s and now it’s mine.” She continued, “My mom fought for the right to have an abortion, and now I do.”
Selman informed a local outlet that she donates money monthly to Planned Parenthood.
“I think what people don’t understand about this fight is that we’re about choice. People chose to have abortions and others chose to be mothers. I stand with people having the right to choose,” Selman added.
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said that around 7:30 p.m., officers began escorting about half of the crowd away from their location. Eventually, protesters spilled onto a nearby intersection.
Moore tweeted, “A segment of the group began to take the intersection. We attempted to communicate, clear and provide dispersal order to the group. Crowd began to throw rocks and bottles at [officers]. We have one [officer] injured.”
The police chief added that the extent of the injury was unknown at the time.
Sources say that about an hour later, officers slowly began driving through the intersections that the protesters had blocked. As police drove their vehicles through the crowd, protesters could be seen banging on the cars.
Reports also state that some officers hit attendees with police batons and a glass door at a nearby Planet Fitness had been smashed. Videos from social media show police in riot gear as well as Department of Homeland Security vehicles on the scene.
Eyewitnesses recall seeing “Google LASD gangs” spray-painted at a bus stop.
By 10:30 p.m., the majority of the crowd had cleared.