Brawl Erupts Outside L.A. School Board Meeting on LGBTQ+ Rights

An already tense Glendale Unified School District board meeting Tuesday turned violent when pro-and anti-LGBTQ+ protesters clashed outside of the building, police said, confirming three people were arrested during the scuffle and that attempts to de-escalate the angry crowd ultimately failed.

The school board was scheduled to vote on recognizing June as Pride month–as has been the case for the last four years–with most of the meeting’s speakers from the public generally being in favor of LGBTQ+ rights. But about an hour into the meeting, punches were thrown outside, prompting the meeting’s attendees inside to have to shelter in place as police declared the protest as an unlawful assembly.

Videos posted to social media captured the intense scenes. Those in protest of the LGBTQ+ policies could be seen wearing shirts reading: “Leave our kids alone,” and shouting the names of the five members of the school board. Those in favor shouted: “Racists, sexists, anti-gay. Christian fascists go away.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.