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Egg thrown at recall candidate Larry Elder during campaign stop

As jeers escalated, video from the scene showed a woman on a bicycle and wearing a gorilla mask throwing an egg toward Elder.
Credit: AP
Conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder speaks to supporters during a campaign stop outside the Hall of Justice downtown Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. Elder is running to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in the Sept. 14 recall election. The recall was largely driven by frustration with Newsom's sweeping coronavirus orders that closed schools, businesses and in turn, cost millions of jobs. In a television ad this week, Newsom's campaign blasted his Republican rivals as anti-vaxers, However Elder, and other top GOP candidates Kevin Faulconer, Kevin Kiley and John Cox all say they have been vaccinated against the virus and none has flatly said the vaccines are dangerous. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. — Republican gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder got a rude welcome during a campaign stop Wednesday in Venice - a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Critics shouted as he walked through the area and a woman wearing a gorilla mask hurled an egg toward him, then threw punches at an aide who intervened.

The conservative talk show host arrived in Venice around 11:50 a.m. A crowd gathered as he walked along the street toward a scheduled tour of a homeless encampment.

As the jeers escalated, video from the scene captured by Spectrum News 1 showed a woman on a bicycle and wearing a gorilla mask throwing an egg toward Elder, although it did not appear to hit anyone. A man believed to be a member of Elder's staff approached the masked woman, who screamed in response and can be seen throwing at least two punches at the man. At least one other spectator got in the man's face and hurled expletives at him.

During the altercation, Elder was quickly rushed into a nearby SUV and driven away from the scene.

TMZ reported that a pellet gun was fired during the melee, although it was not captured on video.

Los Angeles Police Department Officer Tony Im said the department was looking into the incident, though no further details were released.

Elder, considered the top Republican candidate in the Sept. 14 recall election, told TMZ at a subsequent campaign stop that he wasn't expecting a "ticker-tape parade" in Venice, and he attributed the incident to community anger over homelessness.

"There's a lot of anger, a lot of unhappiness there," Elder said, referring to the homelessness issue.

"People are angry. They're frustrated. They want something done," he told TMZ. "Homeowners want something done. Families want something done. Children that live there, they want something done. This is a danger not only to the homeless people but to the non-homeless people."

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