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Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Who called the Westwood demonstration?

The Bruin carries an account of a Westwood demonstration which happened yesterday, but  apparently no one called. Nonetheless, word that a demonstration was expected led yesterday to a closing of the UCLA campus. See excerpt below:

“No justice, no peace,” chanted hundreds of protesters in Westwood Monday afternoon. The protesters gathered despite social media announcements that the protest had been canceled. They chanted “Black lives matter,” and “Don’t shoot,” on sidewalks near the Wilshire Federal Building in Westwood. The demonstrators criticized police brutality amid several days of protests across Los Angeles and the nation following George Floyd’s death in the custody of Minneapolis police May 25.


From Facebook page of Student Activist Project
[Click on image to enlarge and clarify.]
The Student Activist Project at UCLA originally planned the Westwood protest for June 1, but canceled it Sunday evening for a number of reasons, including safety concerns. Two police agencies and the California National Guard deployed over 100 police officers and troops in response to the Westwood protest. The UCPD, LAPD and the National Guard deployed at least 20 cars and armored vehicles. The UCPD branch at UC Irvine also deployed ten officers to Westwood at UCLA’s request, said UCI spokesperson Tom Vasich. 

Dozens of the protesters later moved to the 405 Freeway ramp, temporarily blocking northbound traffic. The police then began firing rubber bullets at the crowd and detained at least 10 people. After ordering protesters to move onto Wilshire Boulevard, the police formed a blockade of the street. They then declared the protest an unlawful assembly and ordered gatherers to leave the area...

SAP at UCLA’s initial planning for the protest did not include input from the Afrikan Student Union, said ASU Chair Alexandria Davis, in an emailed statement. The organizers also did not include input from the Black Graduate Student Association, said BGSA President Trisden Shaw. The ASU and BGSA did not endorse the protest because they were not directly involved in the planning and for safety reasons, Davis and Shaw said...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2020/06/01/westwood-protest-continues-despite-cancellation-police-detain-at-least-10

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