May 17, 2007 9:47 pm US/Pacific
Activists Reassure Right To Peaceful Protests
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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Thousands of immigration activists gathered in downtown Los Angeles Thursday for a rally to reaffirm their right to peacefully protest.
CBS
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The May First rally ended with riot police using batons and rubber bullets to drive protesters and journalists out of MacArthur Park.
AP
Activists held a candlelight vigil Thursday to assure immigrants of their right to peaceful protests, weeks after another demonstration ended with police wielding batons and firing rubber bullets.
The office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had said he planned to take part in the evening rally at MacArthur Park, the site of the May 1 melee.
At that event riot police beat demonstrators and journalists with batons and fired more than 240 rubber bullets into a crowd that included children. Officers say they responded after being pelted by rocks and bottles. No one was seriously hurt. Four investigations have been ordered.
Thursday's vigil followed a town hall-style meeting at a church by the Multi-Ethnic Immigrant Workers Organizing Network and the We Are American Coalition. Organizers hope to strengthen "the immigrant community's trust in being able to exercise their constitutional rights and not suffer violence," the groups said in a statement.
The May 1 demonstration, one of many held nationwide, was in support of measures to help illegal immigrants gain a path to citizenship.
Villaraigosa was on a trade mission to Central America when the clash happened, and he drew criticism for waiting three days to return home as fallout swelled. He has condemned the officers' actions.
Images of officers swinging batons and knocking people to the ground were played repeatedly on cable TV newscasts, and more than 60 citizen complaints have been filed involving up to 100 officers.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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