Right-wing activist Eoin Richard was carried out of a Los Angeles church and later doused with blue paint after his planned anti-Islam rally shifted locations on Sunday, according to videos posted to Instagram and reporting aggregated here from Blaze News. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles said the parish played no part in the demonstration or the removal seen on video.
Planned rally shifts amid claimed threats
Blaze News reported that Richard intended to launch his “Take Back L.A.: Free Speech Rally” at the Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC). He instead appeared outside Precious Blood Catholic Church, saying in an Instagram story that “we aren’t going to be able to march to the Islamic Center due to threats on our lives,” while adding, “we’re still having our rally here, rallying with Christians and Catholics here in L.A.”
Inside the church, then at a Starbucks
Videos posted to Instagram show Richard and at least one supporter entering Precious Blood Catholic Church with counterprotesters close behind. Footage shows Richard being picked up and removed from the church by individuals whose identities are not disclosed in the videos.
Additional video shows Richard and his companion later cornered at a nearby Starbucks, where members of a crowd can be heard shouting insults, including “Nazi,” “[piece of s**t],” and “terrorist.” In a caption to one video, Richard wrote, “JIHADISTS and ANTIFA storm CATHOLIC CHURCH and abduct EOIN RICHARD after mass.”
Footage also shows masked individuals pouring blue paint on Richard and his companion. Los Angeles Police Department officers are later seen escorting the pair from the store; no arrests are apparent in the videos.
Muslim organizations condemned the planned rally
The Council on American-Islamic Relations Los Angeles (CAIR-LA), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), and the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California condemned Richard’s rally in a press release the day before the incident, per Blaze News. ICSC spokesperson Omar Ricci said, “ICSC has served as a place of worship, community, and belonging in L.A. for generations. Attempts to bring hate, intimidation, or fear to the doorstep of any house of worship have no place in our city. We will not allow those who seek to divide our communities to define who we are or how we respond.”
MPAC shared background on Richard—also referred to as Eoin Richard Connolly in its alert—and stated, “There is no identified public evidence that Connolly has explicitly called for violence against the Islamic Center, Muslims, or event participants.” MPAC also warned that his flyer used “explicitly Christian mobilization with Crusader-associated symbolism” and cited his “documented relationships with activists involved in confrontational protests,” according to the group’s Facebook post summarized by Blaze News.
Archdiocese: Parish didn’t participate
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles told Blaze News that Precious Blood Catholic Church “had no participation in the demonstration, nor did it give permission for its filming.” A spokesperson added that “the individuals shown in the filming removing another person from the church are not staff nor are they affiliated with the parish in any way.” The spokesperson also said the man in a clerical shirt seen in some clips is “not part of the parish nor Archdiocese and is believed to be clergy member of another Christian denomination,” and thanked the LAPD for its prompt response.
