Transgender rights demonstration ends with arrests

Wave Wire Services

LOS ANGELES — Several dozen protesters were arrested in Koreatown July 17 in another round of dueling demonstrations regarding transgender rights after refusing to leave an area that was declared an unlawful assembly.

The protests began about 11 a.m. near Wilshire and Rampart boulevards in Koreatown in front of Wi Spa, according to Los Angeles police Detective Megan Aguilar and the Los Angeles Times.

Demonstrators began throwing smoke bombs and projectiles at LAPD officers, Aguilar said. A dispersal order was issued sometime around noon, and an unlawful assembly declared. Demonstrators were given time to leave the area but several dozen refused to go.

Some protesters — the exact number was not immediately provided — were arrested for refusal to leave the area, Aguilar said.

Two weeks earlier, violent clashes between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators outside Wi Spa began after a viral video from a woman who complained about a person with male genitalia, who identified as female, being disrobed in the women’s section.

It was not immediately clear if trans rights supporters identifying with the group SoCal Antifa — which has been involved in at least one previous demonstration — were among the most recent demonstrations. Earlier this month, five people were injured in the violent skirmishes.