A man was stabbed and a reporter was attacked at a protest against vaccine mandates outside Los Angeles’ City Hall after a fight broke out between the protesters and counter-protesters.
About 2 p.m. Saturday, a group of several hundred people, some holding signs calling for “medical freedom,” arrived at City Hall for the rally, the Los Angeles Times reported. A small group of counter-protesters gathered nearby.
About half an hour later, a fight broke out between the protesters and counter-protesters, the Times reported.
A video of an altercation posted on Twitter by television producer Alex Kimmel showed a man in camouflage punching a man in yellow shirt before he took a swing at another man with an American flag face covering. Other men can be seen pushing each other and throwing errant punches. One person can be heard in the background yelling “unmask them all."
The Los Angeles Police Department tweeted it is “aware of 1 male that was stabbed & is being treated by LAFD,” referring to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The man was taken to a nearby hospital, where he is in serious condition, the Associated Press reported.
“No arrests have been made but investigation is on going,” the department tweeted.
Counter-protesters were seen spraying mace while members of the anti-vaccine rally yelled death threats, the LA Times reported.
KPCC radio reporter Frank Stolze was seen walking out of the park near City Hall being screamed at by anti-mask protesters, the Times reported. One man was seen kicking him.
Stolze told a police officer he had been assaulted while trying to conduct an interview, the Times reported.
Stolze later tweeted: “Something happened to me today that’s never happened in 30 yrs of reporting. In LA. @LAist. I was shoved, kicked and my eyeglasses were ripped off of my face by a group of guys at a protest - outside City Hall during an anti-vax Recall @GavinNewsom Pro Trump rally.”
Stolze added he's in good condition.
Police ended up forming skirmish lines between the protesters and counter-protesters in order to stop the violence, according to the LA Times.
The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday moved forward with creating vaccine requirements for indoor public spaces, voting 13-0 vote directed city attorneys to draft a law, The Hill reported.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.