White supremacist rally ends with five arrests and two assaults, police say [Updated]

 
A white supremacist rally on the lawn of Los Angeles City Hall ended with a handful of arrests Saturday afternoon as counter-protesters showered police and white supremacists with rocks, bottles and other debris.

[Updated at 4:50 p.m.: All five people arrested were counter-protesters, police say.]

A rally by 40 members of a group calling itself the National Socialist Movement drew hundreds of counter-protesters from throughout the region. In the hours leading up to the rally, where members called for the removal of all nonwhites from America's southwest, counter-protesters scuffled with people perceived to be sympathizing with the white supremacists' message.

One man, who sported Nazi tattoos, was severely beaten near City Hall while another man, who carried a confusing sign about religion with a scribbled swastika, was pummeled by a mob of people on Spring Street between 1st and 2nd.

The Los Angeles Police Department went on tactical alert during the event and took responsibility for escorting the white supremacists to and from the demonstration site. Earlier in the week the group had obtained a permit for the demonstration.

At the end of the rally, after 2:30 p.m., police escorted the white supremacists to the criminal courts building parking lot to get in their vehicles. However, one car failed to start. A crowd of counter-demonstrators ran to the lot and began hurling rocks and bottles into the parking lot's southwest corner, hitting cars and shattering glass. As some of the white supremacists held shields emblazoned with swastikas over their heads to protect them from the projectiles, others attempted to jump-start the car. 

The LAPD then order the crowd to disperse and reopened the streets.

Commander David Doan said the LAPD's goal was to ensure that everyone was allowed to exercise free speech while avoiding any use of force by officers. “There was a tremendous amount of restraint shown by our officers,” he said. “We allowed both sides to exercise their 1st Amendment rights.”

Doan said it was a frustrating situation for LAPD officers. “We took some rocks and bottles when they arrived and we took some again when the car had some trouble starting.”

The two people assaulted in the crowd have been treated for their injuries and released, Doan said. The LAPD is not providing a crowd estimate, but Doan said the department had more than enough officers on hand.

The department issued a tactical alert as a precaution, Doan said, to ensure it had adequate staffing. “I am very happy. Our people did an outstanding job,” the incident commander said.

-- Richard Winton and Robert Faturechi

Photo: White supremacists rally on the lawn of Los Angeles City Hall. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[latom]

I hate nazis

[Jim]

What did the "confusing sign about religion" say exactly?

[Geo]

Wow, a lot of class displayed by the counter-protesters by throwing rocks and bottles.

I imagine that many of them are no better than the thugs who participate in racist gangs.

[John]

I notice that, whenever there are these so-called "white supremecist rallies", it's alway the other side who cause most if not all of the trouble at these type of events. Could it be that those "Nazis" and "white supremecists" are, for the most part, simply exercizing their right to free speech, while the media and the ADL continue to demonize them?

[Teach]

Rocks and bottles? Why not assault rifles?

[Ken]

I am conservative, dislike a lot of what Obama has done and stated he wants to do, I am against illegal alien amnesty (unless the person or immediate family has served honorably in our armed forces), I dislike affirmative action. HOWEVER, I think white supremacists, apartheid mongers, and racists are very, very wrong and they thoroughly disgust me.

[Byron allen]

so , the white dangerous supremacist protesters were assaulted and beaten by the" peaceful anti- white supremacist" people present at the demonstration? Hmmmmm, I have to think about this.

[grignard]

besides the protesters beings labeled as supremacists, it looks to me like otherwise innocent whites were savagely beaten by a large group of minorities. Sooo who is racist here?

[AB]

Neanderthals fighting Neanderthals...go ahead, finish each other off!

[Ames]

Great!!! what a waist of our money this was. A bunch of ignorant, no education, and confused white supremacist want to Rally up and we have to support this non-sense with our tax money? Good luck white supremacist scumm bags, the southwest is mine. "Rally-up boys"

[Josh in the 310]

This is Los Angeles, a city with too much diversity, that is why those retarded ,inbred, rednecks got booted out with rocks and bottles. HAHAHAH LoL the looked so scared on Ch.7 news..thats what they get for being idiots

[Mestengo]

Stupid people attacking stupid people!

Think either side has any comprehension of the meaning of the free speech amendment?

[Spin media]

Say it truthfully,LAT: Five minorities were arrested for viciously attacking whites for exercising their right of free speech.

[Michael]

It's always unsettling when the actions of a few validate the cause of an unjust movement. There will always those among us who rush to become a stereotype.

[Jerry]

In Europe and Canada these Nazis would be put in jail. Freedom of speech in those countries dose not mean you can denounce another demo-graph.

[Mick Russom]

Planted lies by the propaganda wing of the White House, the Lame Stream Media. This is pure lies, the racists are usually union/democrat plants.

This is again a lie, these lies are utterly transparent.

The main stream media is pushing worse-than-Goebbels lies about the citizens protesting our government today.

[Abe]

Obviously FREEDOM OF SPEECH means nothing to the Marxist and their supporters who have taken over America.

"we don't like the message so let's kick their arse".
Sorry. That is not America. YOU FAIL. NO AMERICA FOR YOU!
Please go back to wherever you came from.

[Michael]

And what did this exercise of First Amendment Freedom cost our city? Who at City Hall is responsible for approving the permits that put the public at risk? Wouldn't it have been wiser to have denied the permits in the first place on the grounds of public safety, thus saving our city the thousands of dollars we don't have to pay for all the police work. I am sure the White Supremacists are not coughing up the cash to pay for this event. Mayor Villaraigosa, you knew this was coming down the pike. How much did this event cost the city and how are you going to pay for it?

[chi]

Unlike the Republican Party and the Tea Party, at least this group has the courage to publicly acknowledge that they are Nazis. Anyone who wants to know how they operate can read "THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH." The tactics being used by these right wing groups is goosestepping right along with the way Hitler rose to power - the only exception being that Sarah Palin is not nearly as smart as Adolph Hitler.

[Rosee]

The counter protesters don't seem any better than whom they are protesting!

[Bruce S]

Not sure which group is worse. The nazi's morons or the anti nazi group of morons. One spews racist hate and the other resorts to violence when they don't agree with someone's views. And why are they throwing rocks at the police....they are just trying to do their job. If the press ignored these 40 idiots no one would have noticed their little rally.

[Terry]

Nazis are rallying in L.A. and the angle of your article is about how good a job the police did. Congratulations.

[Johan]

People who are "severely beaten" do not get "treated for their injuries and released" the same day.

[Sophie]

Well, the Nazis got what they came for. Good job idiotic counter-protesters. I blame the media for giving publicity to the rally beginning yesterday, and a bunch of hoodlum counter-protesters. I am a person of color, and the best counter protest against the racists would have been -- to stay away. They're scum not worth answering.

[mike]

if they want to march let them, or all our rights are infringed...don't be a puppet for any side...

those who are truly responsible for the mess we are in want more than ever to have us divided, as is our two party system and voting BLOCKS they control.

it's all too simple, too easy to id repeated occurrences from the past; arguments taste the same...it's all too simple to not to appear manufactured.

in the end, it's not white supremacist that matter, it's dysfunctional and sold out government which will bring down our great nation.