LOS ANGELES (AP) – One of the largest vaccination sites in the country was temporarily closed Saturday because dozens of protesters blocked the entrance, stopping hundreds of motorcyclists who had been queuing for hours, the Los Angeles Times reported..
Los Angeles Fire Department closed the entrance to the Dodger Stadium Vaccination Center around 2 p.m., as a precaution, officials told the newspaper.
Protesters had members of anti-vaccine and far-right groups, the Times reported. Some of them carried signs denouncing the COVID-19 vaccine and shouted for people not to receive the shots.
There were no incidents of violence, the Times said.
“This is completely wrong,” said German Jaquez, who left his home in La Verne and had been waiting an hour for vaccination when the stadium doors were closed. He said some protesters were telling people that the coronavirus is not real and that vaccination is dangerous.
The vaccination site reopened shortly before 3 p.m., the Times reported. The site is usually open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Following its reopening, Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted, “We will not be deterred or threatened. Dodger Stadium is back in operation.”
A post on social media described the demonstration as “PROTEST / MARCH SCAMDEMIC”. He advised participants that “please refrain from dressing Trump / MAGA, as we want our statement to resonate with the sheep. There are no flags, only informative signs.
“This is a protest to share information and march against all COVID, vaccine, PCR tests, blockades, masks, Fauci, Gates, Newsom, China, digital tracking, etc.”