Los Angeles police on Saturday declared an unlawful assembly after a protest of a local area spa over its acceptance of transgender customers turned violent.
Police ordered the area around the business, Wi Spa, to be cleared and said that anyone remaining would be arrested.
The Proud Boys, a far-right group, are said to have arrived at the scene prior to the violence escalating. Photos and videos posted in a Twitter thread by the account Left Coast Right Watch show armed officers clashing with protesters, including the use of batons and, allegedly, riot munitions. Police can also be seen attempting to form a defensive perimeter.
WARNING: Clips in Twitter thread contain language and scenes that may be disturbing.
Later, in another tweet, a Proud Boys member can be seen allegedly pepper-spraying an unarmed woman attempting to ask them questions.
Nathan Howard/Getty Images
One Twitter user, going by the handle Kwertzy Industries, posted a screenshot of an emergency alert sent to their phone regarding the incident.
“An Unlawful Assembly was declared,” the message read. “Leave Wilshire & Rampart or be arrested. Immediately go Westbound Wilshire and disperse or you will be arrested. This is an Unlawful Assembly and the LAPD will arrest you if you do not leave the area immediately.
Emily Molli, a Los Angeles-based reporter, tweeted a photo showing LAPD officers forming a line around Wi Spa in anticipation of further violence.
Police have a perimeter around Wi Spa in Los Angeles in anticipation of another protest/counterprotest after last week’s became violent.
Large black bloc presence here awaiting Proud Boys pic.twitter.com/O66hXoFyrX
— Emily Molli (@emilymolli) July 17, 2021
Wi Spa drew the ire of far-right elements after a video of a woman’s encounter with the business’ staff went viral on social media. In the clip, which had been viewed over 131,000 times on Instagram as of July 4, the woman complains about the presence of a transgender woman in the women’s changing area and makes several transphobic comments.
Wi Spa, for its part, stood behind its policies for transgender clients.
“Like many other metropolitan areas, Los Angeles contains a transgender population, some of whom enjoy visiting a spa,” the company said in a statement to The Los Angeles Times. “Wi Spa strives to meet the needs of all its customers.”
“California law prohibits discrimination against transgender and gender non-conforming people in business establishments,” an attorney representing Wi Spa said in another statement.
This incident began to draw right-wing protests to the spa, including numerous individuals and groups associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory. During a July 3 protest, individuals were seen wearing shirts and carrying signs expressing common QAnon talking points, beliefs, and slogans. Others wore shirts wrongly conflating transgenderism with pedophilia, a common transphobic tactic.
