Los Angeles protesters torched and spat on an American flag while chanting “Burn it down” and calling for the destruction of America in just the latest shocking scene out of the city’s ongoing riots, footage shows.
“This is not just a gesture, this is something we need to make real. We need to take down this empire once and for all,” a man with a bullhorn yelled to a crowd gathered around an American flag, which lay burning between them on an LA street Sunday evening.
Protesters then stepped forward and sprayed lighter fluid on the burning flag, while others marched up and spat on it, footage from the incident showed.
“F–k imperialism,” the crowd jeered. “F–k ICE. F–k Trump. F–k the system.”
The scene was just the latest to come out of LA, which has been mired in riots throughout the weekend after protests broke out over mass raids for illegal immigrants carried out by the Department of Homeland Security on Friday.
As the protests intensified over the weekend, President Trump sent in the National Guard to help quell the riots, but the violence has continued.
Demonstrators defacing the flag also chanted “Make it great like ‘92” in an apparent reference to the Rodney King riots of 1992 – the last time the National Guard was deployed to LA.
“It is right to rebel. ICE can go to Hell,” they chanted in a call and response, “Make it great like ’92. ICE we ain’t afraid of you.”
They also carried a sign reading “Dare to Struggle,” and yelled “Hold your ground and burn it down,” while continuing to pour more light fluid on the burning flag.
But it was a relatively tame sight compared to many other scenes coming out of LA over the weekend.
Numerous videos captured protestors hurling rocks at cops and squad cars – including one where an officer was struck in the head with a large stone tossed from a highway overpass.
The officer’s helmet was knocked off and he was thrown to the ground by the force, while colleagues hurried him to safety as another rock landed right where his exposed head had been.
Boulevards in the city have also been left strewn with torched cars as masked rioters wave flags from Latin American countries.
The FBI has put out rewards upwards of $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of various protestors who were caught on camera.
