THE INDEPENDENCE DAY AMBUSH
July 4, 1996
Chronology
by Voice of Citizens Together


May, 1996 --VCT announces plans for July 4 rally at Westwood. Flyer is included in June newsletter.

May 9 -- KVEA TV Channel 52 (Spanish language) SERGIO BENDIXEN:

"Many Latinos believe that time has come to take drastic action. Others believe that we should wait. "This is like the strategy the Jews used in Germany during the time of the first years of Hitler.

June 22 "Hang 'em high"
CHALLENGER (Communist Newspaper) - dated "July 3"
"L.A. Fascists Call July 4th Rally: SMASH THEM! [headline of story]
"LOS ANGELES, June 22, - "Hang 'em high-all of them!" That's what one worker wants to do to the racists planning a rally against immigrants on July 4th"
'"We have to bring a lot of people to get those racists!' said a garment worker who received a leaflet in downtown Los Angeles.'"

July 2
VCT received a fax of a flyer announcing a counter-demonstration. It was poorly done and used our map to show location of counter-demonstration. Threat not considered serious at the time.

July 3

1 PM VCT receives email indicating that possibility of a counter-demonstration is mounting, but not confirmed.
2 PM VCT sends warning to its membership fax-tree and the media. Glenn Spencer of VCT calls West Los Angeles Division of LAPD informs them of planned counter-demonstration.
4 PM Guy McCreary of VCT calls LAPD Captain Weller (North Hollywood Division) - tells him that some of groups listed as counter-demonstrators may be dangerous and faxes him VCT's warning. Capt. Weller agrees about danger and relays VCT warning to LAPD facilities closer to federal building - faxes VCT warning.

July 4
~8:45 AM - Glenn Spencer (head of VCT) arrives at Federal Building and arranges exact location of rally with federal police (south of building about 400' from - and out of sight of - corner of Wilshire and Veteran). Rally participants begin to arrive and assist with set-up in parking lot.
~9:40 AM - Jim Bevin tells Spencer that arrivals may not know location because VCT directional signs have been removed. Spencer asks small group holding American flags to go to corner of Wilshire and Veteran and direct traffic to parking lot. Approximately six Americans go to corner. VCT unaware of counter-demonstrators at this point - (they arrived very rapidly as a group).
~9:42 AM - According to VCT eye witnesses and at least two reporters, six Americans are attacked by 50 counter-demonstrators.

KABC TV Channel 4 - Four O'Clock Report -- Mark Coogan -
"It began when a conservative group opposed to illegal immigration planned a demonstration here but they were confronted by counter-demonstrators who appeared to be bent on violence." " It appeared some of the leftists had prepared with soft drink cans." "The skirmishing went on when soft drink cans were thrown by the communists...it was ideological combat at Wilshire and Veteran." "There wasn't a law enforcement officer in sight to break this up." "Fifteen minutes into the fracas, the LAPD appeared in force but by that time the fighting was over."

KMEX-TV - Channel 34 (Spanish language) Jesus Javier -
"These events have the Consular authorities very worried, to a point that even the Mexican Consul has asked that our people don't use Mexican flags in these protests."

July 5
Los Angeles Times, Carla Hall - "Police quickly broke up the fight and no arrests were made." Photo in Valley section (B9) showed a Latino carrying sign in Spanish which read, in part, "Students Smash Fascists"

LA OPINION (Largest Spanish-language newspaper in L.A.)- By Joseph Treviño
(Translation by a Latino VCT member)
"The demonstration had barely started when a group of approximately 50 people with red flags and black letters that read 'Progressive Labor Party' (PLP), of Maoist tendencies, who had been at the corner next to the Veterans Cemetery-away from the other two groups-moved towards the anti-immigrant group.
"After exchanging insults, members of the PLP, who say they are of communist ideology, started throwing soda cans, sticks and stones."
(On July 5 reporter Treviño told Glenn Spencer of VCT that the communists threatened to attack VCT any time it held a rally.)

July 6

THE OUTLOOK (Santa Monica) By Josh Grossberg
"A spokesman for the Progressive Labor Party called Spencer's organization 'fascist.' " " 'The Voice of Citizens Together is an openly racist group that says that Mexican culture is ruining our country,' says Linda Baughn, a self-described communist."
"While neither admitting nor denying her cohorts initiated Thursday's street violence, Baughn said: 'We're communists..We're not pacifists and we understand that fascism has to be fought.' "

July 8
KMPC Radio (710 AM) On-air statements by Xavier Hermosillo

...Some of you have chided me. Some of you have accused me of fomenting violence. Some of you have accused me of having my head relocated to my exterior posterior. When I predicted what happened on the Fourth of July in Westwood - and Fred in Whittier wants to talk about that - Guido in Tarzana wants to talk about that - while I predicted several months ago, over a year ago, that if the, if the elements of this group called the Voice of Citizens Together, which I call the Voice of Clowns Together, that if they continued their ugly rhetoric, their hate speech, that there was going to be a confrontation."

END OF CHRONOLOGY - BEGINNING OF COMMENT
"Proposition 187 was the last gasp of white America in California."
Art Torres, Chairman of the California Democratic Party, - Jan. 15, 1995
fascism: n.
A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
Does that definition more closely fit the Americans who were attacked on the Fourth of July, or those who attacked them? Does it more closely fit the government of Mexico and Mexican nationlists or the goverment of the United States and Americans?

Voice of Citizens Together
13601 Ventura Blvd., Suite 163
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
818-501-2061 · Fax 818-501-0359
See July 4, 2000 attack on Americans at the Westwood Federal Bldg.
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