Pro-abortion protest in Los Angeles turns violent, at least one police officer injured

A pro-abortion protest in downtown Los Angeles turned into a violent clash with law enforcement after officers were called to disperse the increasingly disruptive crowds, resulting in the injury of at least one officer Tuesday night.

Fox News reported that the police officers were mostly monitoring the crowd, which started as a smaller gathering of around 30 outside the city’s federal courthouse building. As the night went on, the protest grew increasingly rowdy and disruptive. The crowd grew in size and had more than 250 people flooding Los Angeles’ streets and blocking pedestrian traffic.

The protest occurred despite state officials and lawmakers in the state of California vowing to codify the ability of Californians to access abortion in state law.

As the gathering grew in size, its attendees grew increasingly hostile and began throwing objects at the police officers present. The crowd’s violence prompted the Los Angeles Police Department to issue a citywide tactical alert during the heat of the conflict.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said, “We attempted to communicate, clear, and provide dispersal orders to the group.”

The police chief added that the “crowd began to throw rocks and bottles at the officers" when they were told to disperse.

Moore said that at least one officer from the Los Angeles Police Department was injured by members of the crowd.

At one point, members of the crowd even swarmed the police officers while the officers were in their vehicles.

On Monday, a leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision indicated that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the controversial case that led to the proliferation of legalized abortion throughout the U.S.

After the draft leaked, protests were held in major cities throughout the country, seemingly following the lead of pro-abortion advocates who gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday.

After the leak, California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statement decrying the decision as an “appalling attack on the rights of women.”

Newsom said, “This draft opinion is an appalling attack on the rights of women across this country and if it stands, it will destroy lives and put countless women in danger. It will be the end of fundamental constitutional rights that American women have had for nearly 50 years.”

Newsom continued, “We have a Supreme Court that does not value the rights of women, and a political minority, that will stop at nothing to take those rights away. This won’t stop with choice and the right to privacy. They are undermining progress, and erasing the civil protections and rights so many have fought for over the last half-century.”