Watch | Brawl breaks out outside school as students clash with anti-LGBT protestors
By Will Stroude
Scenes of violence broke out outside a Los Angeles high school earlier this week after students turned on an anti-LGBT group protesting against the the school’s recently introduced gender-neutral bathroom.
The group of adults gathered outside Santee Education Complex in Los Angeles, on Tuesday afternoon (April 19), brandishing a sign which read: “Homo sex is sin”, KTLA reports.
In video footage recorded by a student, one man called be heard telling the school to “burn in hell”.
Mobile phone footage later captures the moment violence breaks out between students and the anti-gay demonstrators.
The Los Angeles School Police Department confirmed that they were called to the scene and that the group of protestors decided to leave.
There were no injuries reported, and school officials confirmed that no arrests were made following the incident.
“There was a riot here because of the gender-neutral bathroom that we have,” on Santee student told Sasha Phillips told KTLA. “It’s just a bathroom. I mean, people pee.”
The school’s principal, Martin Gomez has since released a statement applauding his “brave” students for their continued support of the school’s inclusive bathroom policy.
“Yesterday, a small group of adults unsuccessfully attempted to discredit the brave actions of our students by protesting against the school’s recently approved gender-neutral restrooms,” he said.
“Above all, we want to ensure the safety of our students despite outside factors and influencers who want to disrupt instruction and the well-being of our students.”
After hearing about the fight, a political group called Union del Barrio called for a “rally to stop the hate” on Wednesday, and huge crowds of locals turned up outside the school to show their support for the LGBT community.
Police officers were stationed outside the school for the duration of the day to prevent further outbreaks of violence.
You can watch KTLA’s coverage of the incident below:
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