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LA to Ban Nunchucks, Swords at Protests

Move follows violence at rallies across the country

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November 1, 2017

Nunchucks, mace, tasers, box cutters, toy firearms, swords, and shields are among the list of items the Los Angeles City Council has moved to ban protesters from bringing to public demonstrations and protests.

Citing the rallies across the country that "have erupted in violence," including those in California and Charlottesville, the ordinance would also ban metal or plastic pipes and glass bottles.

"It is imperative that individuals engaging in peaceful expressive public activity, and law enforcement personnel dedicated to protecting such activity, be allowed to do so without suffering injury," the ordinance states.

Flame torches, such as the tiki torches seen at the white supremacist Charlottesville protest this summer, would also be banned.

Signs, posters, and banners must be made of soft materials that can be rolled, or cardboard no thicker than one-quarter inch.

Projectile launchers and containers filled with flammable, biohazard, or noxious liquid will not be allowed.

An initial warning will be issued to violators "when feasible," including by a general audio announcement or signs posted in the area of the rally.

The new restrictions, passed by the council 13-1, were approved as an "urgency ordinance" and will probably go into effect by the end of the week, ahead of coordinated antifa rallies planned nationally for Saturday to end the "nightmare [of] the Trump/Pence Regime," one of which will take place in Los Angeles.

The rules were first proposed by Councilman Mitchell Englander, a reserve officer with the LA Police Department, and will amend a section of the LA municipal code that already makes it a misdemeanor to bring a piece of lumber, wood, or wood lath thicker than one-fourth inch or wider than two inches to a rally or demonstration.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has voiced concern about the ban.

Violent campus protests have broken out in recent months at Georgia Tech, the University of California-Berkeley, and the University of Michigan.

Published under: Protests