A journalist for The Guardian filmed herself being attacked Saturday while trying to report on an anti-transgender rally outside a Los Angeles spa. Lois Beckett said she had sought to interview conservative women protesting at Wi Spa, which has been the site of violent protests for weeks after a woman claimed the spa allowed a transgender woman to expose herself to kids. (The claim was pushed by Fox News host Tucker Carlson but was most likely fake.) Beckett filmed protesters throwing her to the ground, throwing water on her, and yelling about grabbing her phone. She said she escaped through a police line. “I am okay and frustrated that I could not do my job today and simply interview people about why they are demonstrating in the middle of downtown Los Angeles without being violently targeted and chased away,” she wrote.
Saturday’s rally descended into chaos, with videos showing dueling groups of protesters violently clashing and police responding with batons and rubber bullets. The LAPD eventually put out a public safety alert calling the protest an “unlawful assembly” and warning people to leave or risk arrest.
