A resident took a photo of a member of the National Guard and thanked him for being here.
Circling the News received the following email this morning: “Just wondering what is going on this a.m. in the Palisades….is the National Guard around?”
Saturday night at Fairfax and Melrose, near Rick Caruso’s Grove, and then Sunday afternoon in Santa Monica near the Santa Monica Place mall, looters ran in and out of stores, mostly unchecked by the police. (To see Palisades local police, Jimmy Soliman and John “Rusty” Redican in action on Saturday, visit the video https://www.foxla.com/video/689995)
Fires were set, stores destroyed, and general chaos resulted, resulting in curfews here in Los Angeles and in cities across the country. The National Guard was called to try to prevent further damage to private and public property.
On Sunday around 6 p.m., Circling the News spotted three police cars together on Antioch Street in Pacific Palisades. I spoke to one of the police officers, who said they were here in case there were issues. Later that evening a small unit of the National Guards stopped by.
This morning around 8:30 a.m., there were no police (or National Guard troops) stationed in our village.
CTN was told the LAPD had been monitoring social media and found a message from Antifa that stated, “White communities are where we are going and we’re going to make them pay.”
The following demonstrations were set for today, June 1:
– Van Nuys, VN City Hall – 8 a.m.
– Westwood, Wilshire & Veteran – 2 p.m.
– Hollywood Hills, Sunset Blvd & Crescent – 4 p.m.
– Hollywood, Sunset Blvd & Vine – 4 p.m.
– Santa Monica, 4th St. & Santa Monica Blvd – 4 p.m.
– Brentwood, Barrington & Wilshire – 4 p.m.
– Beverly Hills, Wilshire & Santa Monica – 4 p.m.
By 1 p.m., the Palisades business district was packed with people shopping before the 6 p.m. curfew, and LAPD police cars were in evidence on several streets.
LAPD Officer John “Rusty” Redican called Circling the News in the early afternoon and warned that there are people who are not Palisades residents — four or five in a car — scouting this area. Some may have guns. “There are opportunists and malcontents,” he said, noting that if 30 to 50 people hit one spot, that it is hard to stop them from looting.
A source at Caruso’s Palisades Village told CTN that they had been told that groups were targeting high-end stores, such as those located in the Grove, Beverly Hills and Pacific Palisades, and that criminal activity was possible tonight.
The windows in the stores at Caruso’s Palisades Village were boarded to deter looters.
Officer Redican said he wanted to warn people to stay home and observe the curfew. “I just want to keep people from getting hurt.”
Temescal Canyon Gateway Park was shut today because there was concern that Antifa would try to wreak havoc by starting a fire in the park.
Lisa Cahill, field deputy for Councilman Mike Bonin, sent the following e-mail to community leaders at 11:06 a.m. today: “I hope that each of you is safe and well. I wanted to give you a brief update.
“The National Guard will be stationed in Palisades business district and in Westwood. LAPD has set up a command post at Jackie Robinson stadium. The Councilmember will be there today. He will be working with the Mayor and LAPD to determine any additional National Guard deployments.
“I want to personally thank each of you for all your efforts in reaching out to the business owners and residents in our neighborhoods and for all you are doing to provide helpful, reliable information to others.”
A National Guard unit arrived in Pacific Palisades around 3 p.m. this afternoon. Residents who saw them thanked them for coming.
The windows in businesses in Palisades Village were being boarded up, as were several other businesses in the town.
Several businesses in Pacific Palisades boarded windows after there were warnings that looters were targeting wealthy areas.
A “message from antifa?” Gimme a break!