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Protestors arrested in Los Angeles as anti-trans protest outside spa turns violent

Protestors arrested in Los Angeles as anti-trans protest outside spa turns violent

Los Angeles shooting

In Los Angeles, dozens of people were arrested after a chaotic and sometimes violent demonstration by anti-transgender protesters who targeted a Koreatown spa. It has a trans-inclusive policy allowing trans women to use women’s facilities.

On Saturday, the protests completed two weekends of violent protests this month in the streets around Wi Spa. It is a neighbourhood that has found itself at the heart of a right-wing media storm over an alleged incident where a customer filmed herself complaining about a trans woman in the women’s area of the spa.

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The protestors called for a boycott of Wi Spa and chanted baseless claims about paedophilia. Women were seen carrying a sign that read, “protect female spaces” and “It’s worse in women’s shelters”.

A Los Angeles police department spokesperson said that the police made several dozen arrests for failure to disperse after declaring an unlawful assembly shortly after 11 am.

LAPD also fired rubber bullets at trans rights demonstrators from a close distance. This comes despite a recent judge's rule restricting the department’s use of certain “less lethal” projectile launchers against protesters.