A group of protesters who attended the Los Angeles “No Kings” rally completed the organized downtown march on Saturday, only to lay siege to the United States Courthouse just blocks from City Hall. The protesters threw large chunks of concrete at Department of Homeland Security agents trying to protect the building from the mob of attackers.
Video captured by independent journalist Julio Rosas of Mostly Peaceful Media on Saturday afternoon showed a crowd of protesters, some with protective eyewear, face masks, and gas masks, launching the concrete projectiles towards the facility and the DHS protection force staged inside.
Breitbart Texas spoke with Rosas shortly after the event about the incident that occurred shortly after the conclusion of the “No Kings” rally march, which ended a few blocks away at City Hall. Rosas captured on video the moment protesters attempted to breach the protective fence around the federal building. One of the attackers carried the Palestinian flag, and several sported Palestinian Keffiyeh scarves.
According to Rosas, the Los Angeles “No Kings” rally and a subsequent march began and ended at Los Angeles City Hall. Rosas says the violence occurred after a splinter group from the rally walked several blocks to the courthouse to begin the attack. “This was an offshoot group of the No Kings protesters, who moved directly to the federal building as if this attack had been planned,” Rosas added.
Rosas says he was focusing on the facility’s fencing and did not notice the mounds of concrete projectiles being brought to the area to use against the agents and the facility. DHS agents inside the facility managed to keep the attackers at bay after launching tear gas into the crowd.
In a social media post on Saturday evening, United States Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced the arrests of several individuals involved in the assaults on officers protecting the facility. Essayli warned of more arrests, saying, “To those who were smashing concrete blocks and throwing them at our officers, we have you on video. We will find you and arrest you, too. You’ve been warned.”
“No Kings” rallies were held in many cities across the country on Saturday, with the flagship rally held at the Minnesota State Capitol, attended by special guests Jane Fonda, Governor Tim Walz, Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Ilhan Omar, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Bruce Springsteen performed at the rally, which, like most others, served only to criticize the United States-Israel military action in Iran under Operation Epic Fury and foment calls to abolish ICE.
The events were sponsored by a wide range of non-government organizations, including 50501, the ACLU, the American Federation of Government Employees (parent labor union of the United States Border Patrol), Arab American Institute, Blue Future, and Amnesty International, among others.
The “No Kings” website characterized the military action ongoing in Iran, the movement to abolish ICE, and efforts to pass the SAVE America Act by saying, “Masked secret police terrorizing our communities. An illegal, catastrophic war is putting us in danger and driving up our costs. Attacks on our freedom of speech, our civil rights, our freedom to vote. Costs are pushing families to the brink. Trump wants to rule over us as a tyrant.”
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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