Days after anti-vaccination and far-right protesters disrupted operations at one of the nation’s largest vaccination sites COVID-19 at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday that such protests would be quickly arrested in the future. will be.
“Our action is to be immediate and swift in the sense that they are held accountable for the illegal activity,” Moore said this morning during a virtual meeting of the Police Commission.
Protests will be limited to an area near the entrance to the stadium in an effort to balance people’s first amendment rights with the need to make the vaccination site work, Moore said. Officers, he added, had no patience for a repeat of Saturday’s debacle, as maskless protesters wandered through the long queues of cars, intimidating people and obstructing their access to the stadium grounds.
“It is my expectation and instruction that … individuals will be arrested, that they will be quoted and that their actions will be terminated,” Moore said. “This is a way forward to ensure that the lines remain open, and that the vaccines will be unhindered.”
Commission President Eileen Decker welcomed the chief’s assurance and welcomed protesters’ efforts to stop people from receiving the vaccine, “sadly” and “tragically”.
“Interfering with people getting life-saving vaccines is just reprehensible,” Decker said.
She said that people “definitely have a first right of amendment to express themselves,” but that they do not interfere with others’ medical care.
Moore’s promises follow indignation from local officials who demand that no incident like this one should happen again this weekend.
After 40 to 60 protesters appeared on Stadium Way on Saturday, with signs tearing off masks and shouting baseless allegations about the dangers of the vaccine, Los Angeles firefighters closed the main entrance for about an hour.
Images of the closed gate spread quickly. Some who were waiting in line for a shot expressed frustration over how the police handled the situation. Provincial officials have expressed dismay at the idea that such an important public health effort – which is critical to a region of millions – could be hampered by several dozen uninformed protesters.
Moore earlier on Tuesday reiterated the assurance that vaccinations would still be administered while the gates were locked and that people with appointments would still be able to get their shots fired. He said officers at the scene acted appropriately to aggravate the situation and eventually move the protesters.
“Nevertheless, the closing of the gate gave the public the wrong and dangerous impression that the protesters had managed to stop vaccinations, which was an image I am very unhappy about,” Moore said. “In my opinion, the footage did have a cooling effect, or could have a cold effect of intimidation or fright.”