LAPD investigates protest at AIPAC president’s home

By Matthew Ormseth, Melody Petersen and Angie Orellana Hernandez Los Angeles Times

1 year ago

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) is welcomed to the stage by American Israel Publi ... — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) is welcomed to the stage by American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) President Michael Tuchin during the committee’s annual policy summit Grand Hyatt on June 5, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/TNS)

Los Angeles police have launched an investigation into a protest Thursday at the Brentwood home of the president of a pro-Israeli lobbying group, with footage on social media showing protesters igniting smoke devices in the street and spattering fake blood on the property.

The incident, which police are investigating as a possible hate crime, is the latest in Los Angeles after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, prompting Israel to launch a retaliatory counterstrike in the Gaza Strip.

The crisis has roiled Los Angeles, home to large populations of Jews and Palestinians.

On Nov. 1, Canter’s Deli, an iconic Jewish restaurant in the Fairfax District, was defaced with antisemitic messages spray-painted below a mural depicting the history of Jews in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Police Department officers responded Thursday morning to the 11900 block of Foxboro Drive, where a group of protesters was causing a “disturbance,” according to a statement posted on X. Police made no arrests at the scene, but were investigating the incident as suspected vandalism, assault with a deadly weapon and a hate crime.

In a post on X, Mayor Karen Bass appeared to identify the victim as Michael Tuchin, a Los Angeles attorney and president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.

Tuchin didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through the Grove on Black Friday, disrupting holiday shoppers before stopping traffic on Fairfax Avenue outside the mall.

Some shoppers nodded in support, while others looked bewildered as the protesters walked under a suspended Santa and his reindeer and around the mall’s Christmas tree.

Across town in Glendale, a group of about 30 pro-Palestinian protesters also gathered on Central Avenue outside the Galleria and Americana shopping centers.

The LAPD declared a citywide tactical alert Friday “to ensure sufficient resources to address any incident that may arise as a result of today’s protest,” according to a message posted on X.