1 Man Stabbed Amid Anti-Vaccine Mandate Demonstrations

Los Angeles CA

14 August, 2021

2:05 PM

Description

LOS ANGELES, CA — A man was stabbed in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday in the midst of two protests that erupted into violence. Picketers of dueling protests took to the streets in the afternoon over a controversial move to mandate proof of vaccination to enter indoor public spaces in the city. No arrests were made as of 3:30 p.m., but officers said the demonstrations on the south lawn of City Hall were being monitored, the Los Angeles Police Department tweeted. "We are on scene to maintain order after a fight broke out," LAPD officials tweeted. The stabbing victim was rushed to the hospital, but authorities did not disclose his condition. The "Stop Socialism, Choose Freedom March" began around 2 p.m., with demonstrators urging Angelenos to "say no to mandatory vax and passports." The group planned to rally against "medical tyranny, mandatory vaccinations and vaccine passports," a protestor tweeted. Counterprotesters arrived to defend such mandates around 1 p.m. The Los Angeles Police Department told City News Service that it is aware of the dueling demonstrations and will be available if needed. READ MORE: LA Councilman Announces Opposition To Vaccine Order The Los Angeles City Council passed the motion 13-0 and moved to have the city attorney prepare an ordinance requiring people to show proof of at least partial vaccination against COVID-19 to enter most public indoor spaces in the city, including restaurants, bars, gyms, concert venues, movie theaters and retail locations. City Attorney Mike Feuer said he supports requiring proof of vaccination at indoor, public places, including restaurants, bars, gyms, and performance and event venues. "No shots, no admission," Feuer said in a video on Twitter. Council President Nury Martinez and Councilman Mitch O'Farrell introduced the motion last week. "COVID-19 could be eradicated if we had mass vaccinations across the country and across the world," O'Farrell said before noting that smallpox and polio were mostly eradicated through vaccinations. "Why on Earth is it OK in 2021 to have 30 plus people die in the county of Los Angeles from COVID over a three-day period, including an 11-year-old girl, when we have a vaccine that could have prevented all of that, accessible to everyone," O'Farrell said. Los Angeles Councilman John Lee has said he will not support an ordinance and would attempt to delay the order's likely approval. "While I agree with my colleagues who authored this motion that vaccinations are the most effective tool we have in the fight against COVID-19, this proposal is not the way," Lee said. "At a time when we need to move forward together to combat the virus, this measure may only deepen divides without addressing the heart of the matter — getting people vaccinated," he added. In recent weeks, the state and individual counties across California, have adopted a handful of policies to require proof of vaccination or a negative test to ramp up vaccination rates as the highly transmissable delta variant circulates. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced that all teachers and school staff would have to show proof of vaccination or submit to weekly testing. Ahead of that announcement, the Long Beach Unified School District, the second-largest district in Los Angeles County, announced the same policy earlier this week. The statewide order takes effect Friday. All schools across the Golden State must be in full compliance by Oct. 15. The state assured that strong testing resources would remain available to K-12 campuses. "If we want to end this pandemic and disease, we could do it in a month," Newsom said at Claremont Middle School in Oakland just hours after the city and San Francisco issued their own vaccine orders for teachers. "This disease is now a choice. The one thing that could end this pandemic once and for all is available in abundance to everybody that wants it. Regardless of your ability to pay, regardless of your immigration status: It's available today." City News Service contributed to this report.