Following Protests, Mayor Eric Garcetti Orders Overnight Curfew in Los Angeles

Following nationwide protests  — including in Los Angeles — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced an 8 p.m. curfew across the city on May 3. The order will remain in place through 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning, May 31.

The protests came on the heels of the May 25 death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody  in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after an officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes.

The curfew initially covered only downtown Los Angeles, where protesters shut down the 110 freeway on May 29. On May 30, the protests escalated. At the Grove shopping center in the Fairfax district, a Nordstroms and Ray-Ban store was looted. A kiosk was also set on fire.

Baba Sale Congregation, a Moroccan synagogue on Fairfax Avenue, was vandalized by protesters.

In a press conference Mayor Garcetti said, “With liberty comes responsibility, to be able to peacefully protest. We cannot, though, protect our ability to protect life when we see people are looting. We cannot protect our ability to protect life when we see fires set in dense urban areas that not only endanger firefighters, but could put buildings or residents up in flames. And we’ve seen this before in Los Angeles. When the violence escalates, no one wins.”

Garcetti added did not believe protesters were from out of town, as other politicians have claimed. He said he believed 99% of those who took to the streets “are outraged, should be outraged, and are peacefully protesting, exercising their constitutional rights.”

However, he said that anyone who broke the law should be “prepared to meet with the law, be prepared to meet the price. I will always protect Angelenos’ right to make their voices heard — and we can lead the movement against racism without fear of violence or vandalism,” he said. “The vast majority of people taking to the streets are doing it peacefully, powerfully, and with reverence for the sacred cause they’re fighting for. This curfew is in place to protect their safety — and the safety of all who live and work in our city.”

Shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday night,  the City of Los Angeles issued a public safety alert stating that between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning the following would be exempt from the curfew: “Traveling to and from work, seeking or giving emergency care, and emergency responders.”

For more information on the curfew visit the City’s website.