An anti-Muslim protest in California descended into chaos after the initial protesters were met with a counter-protest from alleged Antifa members, who even stormed a Catholic church and forced the anti-Islam protesters out. It appears the anti-Islam protester even took the brunt of the agitation after he was literally thrown out of a church, chased into a Starbucks, and covered in paint. But despite the altercation, no one was arrested.
The incident occurred on August 23 in the Precious Blood Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California. Right-wing activist Eoin Richard spearheaded the anti-Islam rally in the aforementioned church. Apparently, Richard’s group was against the Islamic Center being proposed in the city. However, Richard’s protest was cut short after alleged members of Antifa picked him up and threw him out of the church.
In the video, captured by Andy Ngo, Richard was clearly seen resisting the attempts of the counter-protesters to chase him out, so they followed him into a nearby Starbucks as they threw paint at the anti-Islam protester while shouting, “You’re a terrorist,” and calling him a member of a WW2 fascist group. At the end of the video, the police can be seen intervening to contain the altercation before it grew even more tense.
The clip has since gained millions of views and thousands of comments arguing over who’s in the right and, more importantly, who was supposed to exercise free speech during the clash. Some have also pointed out Richard’s connection to Jake Lang, a far-right activist who has also gone viral several times for anti-Muslim and racially charged protests all across the US.
People online are still arguing about the protest
In any case, it appears the consensus on the “Take Back LA” protest, which Richard organized, is that it “went poorly.” Photos posted on Reddit showed the aftermath of the incident, with Richard covered in blue paint and apparently being chased away by Antifa from both the Islamic center and the Catholic church.
On one hand, some people online mocked Richard’s attempt, accusing him, “Obviously, his ‘folliwers’ are pretty much all fake. Like most of Trump’s X followers are obviously fake accounts.” Another commenter questioned, “Take back LA? From whom?” Consequently, some people also criticized the alleged Antifa members for their supposedly forceful attempts.
“What they’re doing isn’t exercising their freedom of speech, they are using violence to silence other people’s freedom of speech. Funnily enough, that is exactly what a fascist would do,” argues an X commenter. “This is UNACCEPTABLE! Antifa raided a church!!! Isn’t anywhere sacred??? Must we give Antifa, protesters and Muslims all of our spaces? Enough is ENOUGH!!!” rants another. In any case, Richard’s protest and Antifa’s counter-protest have continued to spark political debates online.
