Los Angeles police blocked traffic as about 5,000 demonstrators participated in a “Millions March for First Amendment Rights” Saturday in the Fairfax and Miracle Mile districts of Los Angeles.
Dozens of social media posts on the Internet said the march would be a peaceful protest to air claims of police misconduct in Ferguson, New York and Los Angeles.
The march started at 2 p.m. at Pan Pacific Park, near South Gardner Street and West Third Street, said Los Angeles police officer Nuria Vanegas at the LAPD Media Relations Section.
One map posted by organizers showed the march going east on Beverly Boulevard, south on La Brea Avenue, west on Wilshire Boulevard, north on Fairfax Avenue, then again west on Beverly.
The plan was for it to conclude at approximately 6 p.m. at South Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard.
The LAPD Wilshire station began rolling street closures to protect the marchers at 1:15 p.m., Vanegas said.
Social media postings indicate today’s march is part of several similar marches in major American cities.
A KNX reporter in the crowd estimated about 5,000 people were in the street, and said they paused in silence below a billboard touting the movie “Selma” and its photo of actor David Oyelowo portraying the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
