Demonstrators Attack Federal Buildings in L.A. in Solidarity with Portland

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) declared a tactical alert on Saturday evening, mobilizing officers in response to attacks on federal buildings downtown by demonstrators who had marched in solidarity with protests in Portland.

Several federal buildings were vandalized and had their windows smashed. Demonstrators also blocked traffic in the area.

Bill Melugin of Fox LA KTTV 11 reported:

Video from on scene in downtown LA a short time ago as federal buildings are being attacked by Antifa. https://t.co/jKDC1uyJkg

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) July 26, 2020

They are now in the street not allowing vehicles through. pic.twitter.com/IvbCujh9p1

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) July 26, 2020

Four arrests were reportedly made:

UPDATE: LAPD has made at least 4 arrests in connection with protests in and around Federal property in Downtown Los Angeles including the Metropolitan Detention Center.

— Andrew Blankstein (@anblanx) July 26, 2020

The Los Angeles Times reported:

Los Angeles police issued a citywide tactical alert Saturday night in response to protests downtown, allowing the department to have more officers and resources available.

Sgt. Anthony Costello said there had not been any major problems with the majority of the crowd but that there were some isolated incidents of vandalism, including some broken windows and graffiti at the federal building downtown.

…

According to several media reports, demonstrators organized the protests in response to federal agents being sent to Portland, Ore., to put down nightly protests that began two months ago following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

The Times neglected to report that the Portland protests had been violent, vandalizing a federal courthouse and attempting to set it on fire. Several federal law enforcement officers were also injured after being attacked by demonstrators. Federal officers are not attempting to “put down nightly protests,” but to protect federal buildings local officials will not defend.

Democrats have described the federal officers as Nazi “Gestapo,” while the mainstream media has downplayed the violence, leading White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany to play a montage Friday of video from violence in Portland. None of the cable news networks covered the montage; Fox News cut away when profanity appeared onscreen.

On Friday, L.A.Mayor Eric Garcetti reiterated his support for the Portland protests, which he said Thursday “represent the best of our democratic ideals.” He denied the protests had been violent, saying “individual” acts did not define the whole.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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