Los Angeles, CA: Report Back from Weekend of Anarchist and Antifascist Action

Report back from weekend of anarchist and antifascist activity in Los Angeles, California.

It was a busy weekend for Los Angeles Antifascist Bloc (LAAB). On Saturday we worked with members of the Brown Berets, Anarchist Black Cross-Federation (ABC-F) and other anarchists doing clean up and security for the annual Tongva Bear ceremony at Puvungna. Cal State University Long Beach has decided to encroach on the Tongva Nation’s sacred land by building a parking lot and dumping construction dirt on ceremonial grounds and attempted to charge ceremonial participants for parking. A concession of 200 spaces was allotted for the ceremony so we made sure people weren’t ticketed once we passed the 200 mark for parked cars. We would like to thank the Tongva Nation for being such gracious hosts and for allowing us to participate.

On Sunday Anti-Racist Action Los Angeles (ARA-LA), Los Angeles Antifascist Bloc (LAAB), Abolish ICE LA and other antifascists descended on the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel in Los Angeles who hosted the American Freedom Alliance, a far right fascist organization, designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), who held the international (Global Freedom Movements) conference.

Redecorating this hotel to more accurately reflect what they’re about! ???¡NO PASARAN! pic.twitter.com/SGwTmQAiZA

— Los Angeles Antifascist Bloc (@LAAB213) October 6, 2019

The (AFA) espouse the promotion of “western values” and the continued global hegemony of the white ruling class through anti-immigrant legislation and islamophobic rhetoric and policy making. On their roster were guest speakers such as Marc Jongen, Alternative für Deutschland (AFD) party, a far-right fascist political party in Germany supported by Neo-Nazis.

Katie Hopkins dubbed the British Anne Coulter who’s called for a “final solution” for Muslims, just to name a few.

We protested outside the event holding up signs with other antifascists while a group of us made it into the hotel through a service entrance to alert the staff and patrons of what was going on.

We did a little remodeling. Fuck this place! pic.twitter.com/1ITWRwB8jA

— Los Angeles Antifascist Bloc (@LAAB213) October 6, 2019

We were confronted by management but held our ground while we spoke with hotel workers assuring them that our anger wasn’t directed toward them and that we were there to stand in solidarity with them while they had to endure the racist and bigoted conference goers. Our flyers were eagerly accepted by most of the working staff. One of the hotel patrons demanded to speak to management after she heard what was going in her midst but was ignored by the general manager.

After flyering and arguing with the general manager we were escorted out side. A patron of the hotel who said he is a friend of the hotel owner thanked us for being there and said he would speak with the owner and find out what the hell is going on at this venue. All in all it was a successful action. Special thanks to ARA-LA and Turning The Tide for organizing this action and providing us with signs and flyers to hand out. Check out www.antiracist.org for more info.