Damian Kevitt rode 10 miles with hundreds of other cyclists on Saturday afternoon, wearing a sticker with a picture of Alex Pretti on his jersey.
“These are just cyclists, clubs, bike shops and individuals coming together to say, ‘Hey, Alex is one of us,'” Covert said during a ride on Broadway in Santa Monica. “He was an intensive care unit nurse, he loved the outdoors, he loved riding his bike and he loved riding his bike.”
The so-called “solidarity ride” was one of hundreds of demonstrations across the country throughout the weekend to protest federal immigration raids and the killings of Renee Goode and Alex Pretty by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis.
“What he was doing was not an act of terrorism — he was exercising his rights as a citizen, and he was killed,” said Covert, executive director of Streets for Everyone, a group that works to make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. “We should not be afraid of being killed for exercising our rights… Even if you disagree with someone’s political stance, you should not be punished for having a political stance.”
Nationwide demonstrations began on Friday, with organizers calling on people to avoid shopping and participating in a “national lockdown” as they hope to persuade the Trump administration to tone down its aggressive immigration enforcement tactics and actions against protesters.
Several other protests are planned for Saturday across California, from Culver City to Aliso Viejo, Sacramento and Oakland.
In downtown Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, hundreds of people gathered outside the steps of City Hall and across the street in Grand Park.
Demonstrators made noise with plastic horns and held posters, cars drove by honking and speakers drew cheers.
“I like my ice cubes crushed,” one sign read.
Another wrote: “Mothers, don’t let your sons grow up to be ice caves.”
A comedian told crude jokes about President Trump and officials in his administration.
Between speeches, the crowd chanted: “When we fight, we win! When we fight, we win!”
Vendors sold buttons and hats — some reading “Resistance is Beautiful” — while others collected signatures for various ballot measures. Music blasted from the speakers. A group of friends and family sitting on the grass in a large park.
City resident Lisa Keller stood with two of her friends, one of whom had a sign around his neck that read “Another Peaceful Protester.”
When asked why she showed up on Saturday, she sighed heavily.
“I’m going to do my best to stay PG,” said Keller, 64. “I think it’s important to defend the rights of all people who live in this country, regardless of your immigration status.”
A protest in downtown Los Angeles ended Friday night when law enforcement officers entered a crowd of about 200 people and sprayed chemical agents on demonstrators. The Los Angeles Police Department issued a dispersal order for the area of Alameda Street between Union Station and First Street.
Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Officer Kevin Terzes said Saturday morning that eight people were arrested: six on suspicion of failure to disperse, one on suspicion of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon and one on suspicion of violating curfew. Terzes did not disclose the circumstances of the alleged attack or whether any property was damaged during the incident.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
