A loaded gun was found lying on the streets of downtown Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, a short distance from where President Joe Biden had attended his own star-studded Democratic Party fundraiser organized for his presidential re-election campaign. .
The gun was seen in broad daylight on the sidewalk as pedestrians passed by unfazed.
After catching the attention of an LAPD officer, a police officer picked it up and checked to see if it was loaded.
He appeared to remove a magazine that had been attached to the gun before putting it in his back pocket.
The incident occurred near the 7,100-seat Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, where Presidents Biden and Obama were holding a celebrity-studded fundraiser hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, a stark contrast to the pro-Palestinian protesters outside.
A gun was found abandoned on the sidewalk in downtown Los Angeles, near where President Biden was holding.
An LAPD police officer picked up the gun from the ground and inspected it before removing the magazine from the gun that appeared to be loaded.
Law enforcement officers carrying less-lethal munitions respond to protesters near the campaign event with President Joe Biden in front of the Peacock Theater on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Pro-Palestinian protesters stand in front of the theater entrance.
Police were in riot gear outside the theater in an attempt to keep activists, angry over his administration’s handling of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, away from the event.
At one point, protesters appeared to completely block the entrance to the venue in an attempt to disrupt the fundraiser.
Like countless other demonstrations so far this year, protesters could be seen waving Palestinian flags while singing rhymes showing their support for Palestine.
Some protesters could also be seen wearing t-shirts that said “cease fire now” and “not in our name.”
Inside the theater, some of Hollywood’s brightest stars headlined the splashy fundraiser, helping Biden’s re-election campaign add to the $28 million it had already raised on its trip to Los Angeles.
Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the entrance to a fundraising event for Biden’s campaign.
As in many other demonstrations this year, protesters could be seen waving Palestinian flags.
Law enforcement officers responded to protesters near the campaign event.
Some protesters could be seen wearing t-shirts that said “cease fire now” and “not in our name.”
George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand were among those who took the stage.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Biden and former President Barack Obama, who emphasized the need to defeat former Donald Trump in a race that is expected to be extremely close.
During more than half an hour of discussion, Kimmel asked if the country suffered from amnesia regarding the presumptive Republican nominee, to which Biden responded, “all we have to do is remember what it was like” when Trump was in the White House.
The importance of the event to Biden’s re-election could be seen when the president flew overnight across nine time zones, from the G7 summit in southern Italy to Southern California, to attend.
He also missed a summit in Switzerland on ways to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and instead sent Vice President Kamala Harris, who made her own whirlwind trip to represent the United States there.
Biden was accompanied upon his arrival in Los Angeles by his family, including his daughter Ashley and his granddaughters Maisy and Naomi. The show of family support comes at a difficult time for Biden following the conviction this week of his son Hunter on gun charges.
President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event with former President Barack Obama on Saturday night.
There were some laughs with Biden and Obama together, but with a serious message
The event featured singing by Jack Black and Sheryl Lee Ralph, and actors Kathryn Hahn and Jason Bateman introduced Kimmel at the beginning of the interview with Biden and Obama.
The comedian deadpanned, “I was told Batman, not Bateman, would be performing.”
But he quickly moved on to much more serious topics, saying that “there is a lot at stake in this election” and listing women’s rights, health care and noting that “even the ballot is on the ballot” in reference to the calls of the Biden administration. to expand voting rights.
Kimmel asked the president what he was most proud of having accomplished, and Biden said he thought the administration’s approach to the economy “is working.”
“Today we have the strongest economy in the world,” Biden said, adding, “We try to give everyday people a fair shot.”
Biden told the crowd in California that “we passed all the important laws that we tried to implement.”
Obama expressed admiration for the sweeping legislation on health care, public works, the environment, technology manufacturing, gun safety and other major initiatives that his former vice president’s administration has overseen.
“What we’re seeing now is a byproduct of what happened in 2016. There were a lot of people who, for whatever reason, didn’t participate,” Obama said, adding, “I hope we’ve learned our lesson, because these elections matter in very great measure”. concrete forms.’
When the conversation turned to three Supreme Court justices Trump nominated who helped overturn Roe v. Wade – the landmark decision guaranteeing a constitutional right to abortion – the crowd expressed their displeasure to which Obama responded: “Don’t whistle, vote.” ‘
Biden said that if he were to win four more years in the White House, he might have the opportunity to nominate two new justices, although even that would likely not dramatically reshape a court that currently has a 6-3 conservative majority.
Obama expressed admiration for the sweeping legislation on health care, public works, the environment, technology manufacturing, gun safety and other major initiatives that his former vice president’s administration has overseen.
Biden also referenced reports that an upside-down flag, A symbol associated with Trump’s false claims of election fraud was displayed outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in January 2021.
He worries that if Trump is re-elected, he will “appoint two more who fly his flags upside down.”
Biden’s campaign said it was still counting, but that Saturday night’s rally had raised at least $28 million, more money than any event for a Democratic candidate in history.
Biden had an early lead in the campaign money race against Trump, but the former president has gained ground in recent months after formally securing the Republican nomination.
Trump surpassed Biden’s event in New York in April, raising $50.5 million at a gathering of major donors at the Florida home of billionaire investor John Paulson.
Biden’s shift toward campaigning also marks the beginning of a more intense race toward the November election.
The former president’s campaign and the Republican National Committee announced they had raised a whopping $141 million in May, supplemented by tens of millions of dollars in contributions that flowed in after Trump’s guilty verdict in his criminal hush money trial.
That post-conviction surge came after Trump and the GOP announced they would raise $76 million in April, far surpassing Biden and Democrats’ $51 million for that month.
Biden’s shift toward campaigning also marks the start of a more intense race toward the November election.
Polls show him and Trump largely tied, with many voters discouraged by a rematch between the country’s oldest president and a 78-year-old convicted felon.