RALLIERS KEPT APART : VIOLENCE AVERTED ON IMMIGRATION ISSUES.Byline: Steven J. Gorman Daily News Staff Writer Hundreds of protesters for and against tougher immigration policies rallied outside the Westwood federal building Saturday as law enforcement officers stood between the two groups to prevent violence. At least two people were arrested during the hourlong confrontation, but no one was injured, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. officials for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department This article is about the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, not to be confused with the smaller Los Angeles County Police The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. and the Federal Protective Service. Law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). were out in force to avert a repeat of a bloody clash that erupted involving members of the same two groups at the same location July 4, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Robert Stoneman. ``Our information was that they were going to come back here and have a violent confrontation,'' Stoneman said. ``That didn't happen and nobody got hurt.'' But protesters on both sides of Saturday's face-off complained they were treated unfairly by authorities. About 80 helmeted sheriff's deputies - some on horseback on the back of a horse; mounted or riding on a horse or horses; in the saddle. See also: Horseback , others armed with tear gas tear gas, gas that causes temporary blindness through the excessive flow of tears resulting from irritation of the eyes. The gas is used in chemical warfare and as a means for dispersing mobs. - formed a buffer zone between the rival groups of demonstrators along Wilshire Boulevard near the San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405, and the part of Interstate 5 south of the El Toro Y[1]) is one of the principal north-south highways in Southern California, and the major beltway of I-5 running through Southern California. . Some two dozen federal police officers also took part in the crowd control operation. Behind one side of the police line on the lawn of the federal building, roughly 300 supporters of the group Voice of Citizens Together staged a rally against illegal immigration. Facing them across a concrete barrier that lines the sidewalk on the south side of Wilshire were about 100 counterdemonstrators organized by the self-avowed communist group the Progressive Labor Party. Waving large red flags, clenched clench tr.v. clenched, clench·ing, clench·es 1. To close tightly: clench one's teeth; clenched my fists in anger. 2. fists and ``smash fascism'' signs, PLP (Presentation Level Protocol) A North American standard protocol for videotex. members chanted, ``The only solution is a communist revolution.'' Members of the anti-illegal immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. group tried to drown them out with shouts of their own and by blaring marching music over a stereo system from the lawn. Voice of Citizens Together President Glenn Spencer, who has accused police of failing to keep the peace during his group's July 4 rally, blasted deputies Saturday for pushing his group away from the sidewalk and not forcing the counterdemonstrators to march across the street. Spencer said members of his group should have had access to the sidewalk in front of the building because they had a permit. ``Sheriff's deputies are pushing Americans back, just like the Mexicans who are invading,'' Spencer shouted through a public address system. ``Are they moving them? No! They're moving us. Look at this everybody. This is symbolic. They're invading our territory.'' Members of the Progressive Labor Party were not happy either. ``The cops are not here to protect us. They are clearly here to protect the fascists,'' said a PLP organizer who identified himself as Jim Smith, adding his group was ready to tangle with Spencer's demonstrators ``in a heart beat'' were it not for the presence of law enforcement. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion