Violence breaks out at the Azerbaijani Consulate in Brentwood as protesters clash


One person was arrested and an officer was injured after a peaceful protest that turned violent at the Azerbaijani Consulate in Brentwood on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The protest, organized by the Armenian National Committee of America, West Region, began around 2 p.m. with hundreds of American Armenian protesters marching to the consulate near the 11700 block of Wilshire Boulevard.

The video shows the group singing “The Armenians demand justice” and “Justice for Tavush”. They were protesting against violence in Tavush, a northern province of Armenia near the border with Azerbaijan.

It is unclear how the violence began, but it appears that the group clashed with a smaller group of counter-protesters at the consulate, according to protesters and Los Angeles police. The video shows small groups fighting and pushing each other on the streets.

“I think this is something that should not happen in Los Angeles,” Azerbaijani Consul General of Los Angeles Nasimi Aghayev told NBC News. “Each side should be able to peacefully express its opinion and offer its side of the story.”

Los Angeles Police Captain Randy Goddard told the media that a detective who tried to stop a fight was punched in the eye and will need stitches.

As a result, a person was arrested on suspicion of assault against a police officer.

“Finally, the crowd was not listening to their facilitators and crossed the street to try to instigate the counter-protesters,” he said.