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Protesters At Homeless Encampment Throw ‘Rocks, Bottles And Smoke Bombs’ At Los Angeles Police

Screenshot/Twitter/Via @kevrector

Taylor Giles Contributor
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Police officers in Los Angeles were attacked by protesters Wednesday when police attempted to close a homeless encampment.

Activists and homeless people refused to move and began throwing objects at the officers as they closed in on the encampment, according to Fox News. (RELATED: LA Woman Recounts Time A Homeless Man Doused Her In Diarrhea — ‘He Just Kept Pouring It’)

Activists and supporters of residents of a homeless encampment confront police at Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles late on March 24, 2021, ahead of a planned and announced clean-up of the encampment - part of an estimated half-million USD city clean-up and repair effort. (Photo by RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images)

Activists and supporters of residents of a homeless encampment confront police at Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles late on March 24, 2021, ahead of a planned and announced clean-up of the encampment – part of an estimated half-million USD city clean-up and repair effort. (Photo by RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images)

“Two unlawful assemblies were declared and dispersal orders were issued … due to officers being assaulted with rocks, bottles, and smoke bombs. Fencing is being installed and police will be there overnight,” the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said in a tweet.

At 11:45 p.m., officers were still at the encampment and a fence was installed to keep new protesters out. The homeless already in the encampment were permitted to stay overnight, according to a tweet by LAPD Chief Michael Moore.

Homeless service providers were dispatched to the area to help the homeless find shelter after the clash, Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell claimed in a tweet.

A homeless woman and her dog are seen as police officers clear the street while activists and supporters of residents of a homeless encampment protest at Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles late on March 25, 2021. (Photo by RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images)

A homeless woman and her dog are seen as police officers clear the street while activists and supporters of residents of a homeless encampment protest at Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles late on March 25, 2021. (Photo by RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images)

Los Angeles is the city with the second-highest rate of people experiencing homelessness in every category, based on a 2020 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.