Damian Kevitt spent Saturday afternoon on a 10-mile bike ride with hundreds of other cyclists, a sticker displaying Alex Pretti’s photo stuck to his jersey.
“These are just cyclists, clubs, bike shops and individuals who have come together and said, ‘Hey, Alex was one of us,’” said Kevitt, while riding on Broadway in Santa Monica. “He was an ICU nurse, he loved the outdoors, he loved cyclists and he loved cycling.”
The so-called Unity Ride was one of hundreds of demonstrations across the country throughout the weekend in response to federal immigration raids and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis.
“What he was doing was not a terrorist activity — he was exercising his right as a citizen and he was killed,” said Kevitt, executive director of Streets Are For Everyone, an organization that aims to make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. “We shouldn’t be in fear of being killed by exercising our rights. … Even if you don’t agree with someone’s political stance, you shouldn’t be penalized for having a political stance.”
The nationwide demonstrations began Friday with organizers calling for people to avoid shopping and participate in a “national shutdown” they hoped would convince the Trump administration to tone down aggressive immigration enforcement tactics and actions toward protesters.
Several other protests were scheduled across California on Saturday, from Culver City to Aliso Viejo, Sacramento and Oakland.
In downtown L.A. on Saturday afternoon, hundreds of people gathered outside the steps at City Hall and across the street at Grand Park.
Speakers drew cheers as demonstrators made noise with plastic horns and held up posters, cars driving by honking.
“I like my ice crushed,” one sign read.
“Mothers, don’t let your sons grow up to be ICE holes,” read another.
A comedian told vulgar jokes about President Trump and those in his administration.
In between speakers, the crowd chanted: “When we fight, we win! When we fight, we win!”
Vendors sold buttons and hats — some with the tagline “resistance is beautiful” — while others collected signatures for various ballot measures. Music blasted from speakers. Clusters of friends and families sat on the grass in Grand Park.
City resident Lisa Keller stood with her two friends, one wearing a sign around his neck that said “Another peaceful protester.”
When asked why she showed up Saturday, she let out a heavy sigh.
“I’ll try to keep it PG,” said Keller, 64. “I think it’s really important to stand up for the rights of all people living in this country, no matter your immigration status.”
A protest in downtown L.A. on Friday evening ended with law enforcement pushing into a crowd of about 200 people and spraying a chemical agent on demonstrators. The Los Angeles Police Department issued a dispersal order for the area of Alameda Street between Union Station and 1st Street.
Police Officer Kevin Terzes, a spokesperson for the LAPD, said Saturday morning that eight people were arrested: six people on suspicion of failing to disperse, one on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and one for an alleged curfew violation. Terzes did not have details on the circumstances of the alleged assault or whether there was any property damage during the event.
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