What started as a peaceful protest along Ocean Avenue devolved into chaos around 1 p.m., as looters smashed storefronts in the Santa Monica Place mall and other downtown businesses. Police said they made hundreds of arrests and that the National Guard had arrived to help.
Couples sitting and enjoying meals at recently opened restaurants looked stunned as cars dropped off people, many of them wearing masks and hoodies, who then broke into a pharmacy on 7th and Broadway. Several looters stormed inside and took handfuls of items.
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Protesters stand on top of a burned LAPD cruiser. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters stand on top of a bus stop at the Los Angeles Civic Center to demonstrate for justice Wednesday night. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Protestors turn on their cell phone flashlights at Los Angeles City Hall at 9 pm on Wednesday as part of a silent protest against the death of George Floyd. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)
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A protester confronts National Guardsmen as thousands of protesters march down Spring Street in Los Angeles to demonstrate for justice in the George Floyd murder by cop case Wednesday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters dance on Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday night. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Thousands of protesters march down Spring Street in Los Angeles Wednesday night to demonstrate for justice in the killing of George Floyd. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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LAPD Cmdr. Gerald Woodyard takes a knee with protesters and L.A. clergy during a march in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
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Khalil Mitchell speaks to protesters kneeling near a police line, preaching calm and working to preserve a peaceful protest on Monday. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
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In Hollywood, hundreds of protesters march Monday against police brutality. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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AJ Lovelace, a director and writer, and others keep potential looters from entering a dry cleaning store as they attempt to march peacefully. “We need peace and we need someone to talk to each other,” he said after the looters fled the scene. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
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Demonstrators in Riverside retreat as county sheriff’s deputies fire nonlethal rounds on Monday after law enforcement announced an unlawful assembly. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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An arrest in Hollywood during a protest Monday. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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A demonstrator, injured while trying to flee the firing of nonlethal rounds, lies on the ground in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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An LAPD officer arrests a looting suspect in an alley behind a Hollywood Boulevard store. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Riverside County deputies advance on demonstrators on Monday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Fireworks thrown by a protester explode at the feet of Riverside police. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco takes a knee with demonstrators. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A watch and jewelry store is looted in Van Nuys on Monday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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A looting arrest in Van Nuys. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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AJ Lovelace, director and writer, tries to stop looters from breaking into a Walgreens in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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An LAPD officer arrests a suspected looter in an alley behind a Hollywood Boulevard store. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Police advance on a line of protesters in Hollywood, firing rubber bullets. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Arrests are made of those out after curfew in Hollywood. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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A store is looted in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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People out after curfew are arrested Monday at Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Arrests in Hollywood. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Protests in Westwood. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Volunteers help clean up the mess left by looters in Long Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Protest in Hollywood. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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National Guardsmen outside Santa Monica Place. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Gilbert Haro and sons Richard, 8, and James, 6, help clean up in Santa Monica. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters face off with police in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Santa Monica stores were the target of looting on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Suspected looters in custody in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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L.A. County sheriff’s deputies in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Sake House employee Jared Settles can’t bear to watch as the restaurant burns in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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An arrest in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Broken glass from a looted store covers the sidewalk in Santa Monica. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Cecelia Rosales, who said she was homeless, walks past a line of police officers in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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A man guards a convenience store in Santa Monica. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Looting erupted Sunday in Long Beach. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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Police and protesters face off in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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A police officer inspects the damage to a Santa Monica supermarket. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester is treated after being struck by a rubber bullet. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Looting in Long Beach on Sunday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Looting in Long Beach. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A suspected looter in Long Beach. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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Smashing windows in Santa Monica. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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An arrest in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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People walk away with surfboards in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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People rush out of a looted store in Santa Monica. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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Cheers for protesters in downtown Los Angeles. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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City Hall on Sunday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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A shattered storefront on Melrose Avenue on Sunday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Smashed windows on La Cienega Boulevard. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Downtown L.A. on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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People carry merchandise from a looted store. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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A person carries items from a looted store in the Fairfax District on Saturday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple of protesters embrace on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles Saturday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
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People protest Saturday at Pan Pacific Park. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters gather around a fire in the middle of a downtown L.A. street on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Police fire percussion rounds to clear protesters from Grand Avenue in in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester remains defiant after being pushed to the ground by police on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters are arrested by Los Angeles police in front of City Hall on Saturday. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters block the 110 Freeway. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters take to the streets Friday in downtown L.A. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters are escorted off the northbound 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester is escorted off the northbound 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters climb over a barrier during the May 29 protest in downtown L.A. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters block the 110 Freeway northbound and southbound in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Police officers assume a defensive stance as a protester approaches them on the 110 Freeway on May 29. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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During a May 29 protest, Los Angeles police patrol the 110 after having moved protesters off the freeway. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester rides a skateboard on the 110 Freeway. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters block the 110 Freeway northbound and southbound in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester confronts LAPD officers on Friday in downtown L.A. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester lies hurt on the 101 Freeway near downtown Los Angeles on May 27. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
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An injured man gets up with the help of emergency workers during a protest May 27 in downtown L.A. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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At the same time, demonstrators walked from the Santa Monica Pier north along Ocean Avenue, carrying signs and chanting.
“A peaceful protest is underway along Ocean Avenue between Montana and Colorado,” the city said in a statement issued at 1:15 p.m. “The Santa Monica Police Department is on site and has a presence throughout the community.”
The demonstration was meant to decry the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week. The unarmed black man died in custody after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes, despite Floyd’s pleas that he couldn’t breathe.
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But as the protest got underway, looters swarmed the downtown area in what appeared to be an organized attack. Cars dropped them off in front of businesses, they smashed windows and grabbed what they could, and when police approached, they jumped back into the waiting cars.
Dozens stormed the Santa Monica Place mall, smashing the windows of a Louis Vuitton store and several other shops. The mall entrance was blocked by a gated barrier, but the crowd got through, leaving with armloads of clothing and other goods before police arrived.
A few blocks away, on 4th Street and Broadway, a Vans store was breached. Scores ran inside, stealing shoes and skateboards from the showroom and a storage area. Some loaded merchandise into plastic crates.
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As looters stormed the store, a white woman pleaded with a black woman to stop.
“I was here during Rodney King. Please stop,” she said. “I get it.”
The other woman, gripping the arms of a black man standing at her side, responded, “We are dying. No justice, no peace.”
Santa Monica police officers rolled up on motorcycles shortly before 3 p.m. and entered the shoe store with guns drawn.
Amid the chaos, Santa Monica pushed up its Sunday curfew to 4 p.m. from 8 p.m. and extended the hours to 5:30 a.m. Monday.
UPDATE: As of 2:25pm, tonight's curfew has been updated to 4pm, 5/31. All I-10 and PCH ramps into Santa Monica now closed by CHP. Stay out of downtown.
— City of Santa Monica (@santamonicacity) May 31, 2020
The California Highway Patrol closed the freeway ramps into the city. Cars stuck at the Cloverfield exit were being directed to continue forward on the 10 Freeway, but a full closure of all lanes was implemented behind the vehicles.
By 2:30 p.m., more than 50 law enforcement officers had stormed the Santa Monica Place mall, where the storefronts for 7 for All Mankind and Hugo Boss were smashed. Overhead, a police helicopter circled.
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Alarms could be heard as people ran out with arms full of clothes and sirens blared in the background.
A white man walking through the mall area with his bike laughed at the pillaging and said, “This is great.”
But as police combed the plaza, more looters gathered outside Bubar’s Jewelers, on 4th and Broadway, as reports came in that looters were being shot at in another jewelry store.
Amid the sirens, scores of people ran to a nearby alley and began rummaging through what they had taken.
They found what looked like the back entrance to another store and swarmed in but were interrupted by shouts of “Police!” that sent the group scrambling again.
More than 50 looters ran from the alley with armloads of shoe boxes and other items while a black car drove up.
“Get in. Put it in there. I’m trying to help you,” the driver yelled to the crowds of looters.
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One woman began throwing clothes and shoes inside the car as sirens blared in the background. A few minutes later, police and firefighters showed up after a fire was started at a nearby store.
All the while, peaceful protesters continued to march, making their way to 5th Street and circling the chaos between looters and police.
Around 8 p.m., sirens and store alarms were still blaring as police began to take control of the area, clearing the streets block by block. Business owners were arriving at their stores to assess the damage and protect what was left.
A fire burns in a building on 4th Street in Santa Monica on Sunday night.
(Melissa Etehad/Los Angeles Times)
The owner of Cisco Home on Lincoln Boulevard, a designer furniture store, said he rushed to his store after his neighbor texted him that “people were doing crazy things.” Inside, a couch was flipped over and water from the sprinklers had damaged some of the furniture.
“We lost everything in 10 minutes,” said the owner, Roman, who declined to give his last name. He estimated that the damage would cost up to $6 million.
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The owner of a nail salon near Lincoln and Broadway stood outside his business at 8 p.m., giving instructions to workers unloading a truck full of wooden boards.
The owner, who didn’t want to share his name, said he arrived at his business at about 4 p.m. to find it destroyed. He shook his head.
Rafael Resendez, the owner of the barber shop next door, was also speaking with workers, helping them board up his business. Looters had taken up to $12,000 worth of equipment, including hair cutting tools and cash registers.
Resendez said Sunday was the first day his shop, Lincoln Barbers, had been open in two months because of the coronavirus outbreak. He closed at 2 p.m., telling his employees he didn’t think the looters would hit them. He had posted posted a sign that read “Mexican owned” and messages in support of the protesters in hopes they would avoid his business.
It didn’t work.
“I feel guilty” for not doing more, he said. “Those people are looking for excuses to commit crimes. They don’t care about [George Floyd]. I do care about him. This is not the way to do it.”
People are arrested in Santa Monica.
(Melissa Etehad/Los Angeles Times)
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Dozens of protesters were arrested Sunday evening after hours of demonstrating across downtown. The group was pushed by law enforcement to the entrance to the Big Blue Bus station on Colorado Avenue, where they were encircled and arrested. Police offered to let them leave but when many tried, other officers did not let them pass.
“When they said we could leave they blocked us off and then they arrested us,” said Stevie Doaty, 22, who moved to Los Angeles a month ago from Cleveland.
Elsewhere in the city, a Los Angeles Police Department officer watched as firefighters put out flames on top of Sake House, a restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard.
“This is upsetting,” he said. “Most of these people aren’t from L.A. They’re just out here just causing havoc and chaos.”
The police officer said 99% of police are in support of the protesters’ message, and that he was protecting them, not looters.
“They’re throwing Molotov cocktails and looting and looting and looting. It’s difficult to deal with that,” he said. “I’m hoping I get more than three hours of sleep tonight.”
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Times staff writers Kim Christensen and Joseph Serna contributed to this report.
Alejandra Reyes-Velarde is a Metro reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Previously she wrote for the San Francisco Business Times and the Sacramento Bee. A UCLA graduate, she is originally from Duarte, Calif., and is a native Spanish speaker.
Former Los Angeles Times staff writer Melissa Etehad is an Iranian American who enjoys writing about national and international issues. She received her master’s in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in international affairs from UC San Diego and has reported from the Middle East and Europe. She previously worked at Al Jazeera English and the Washington Post’s foreign desk, where she covered the intersections of politics, religion and gender. She’s a native Farsi speaker.
