A loaded gun was found lying on the streets of downtown Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, just a short distance from where President Joe Biden had been attending his own star-studded Democratic Party fundraiser hosted for his presidential reelection campaign.
The weapon was seen lying in plain daylight on the sidewalk as pedestrians walked by unfazed.
After being brought to the attention of an LAPD police officer, a cop picked it up and checked to see if was loaded.
He appeared to remove a magazine that had been attached to the gun before placing it in his back pocket.
The incident happened close to the 7,100-seat Peacock Theater in Los Angeles where both Presidents Biden and Obama were holding a Hollywood-style fundraiser.
A gun was found lying abandoned on the sidewalk in downtown LA close to where President Biden was holding
A police officer with the LAPD picked the gun up from the ground and inspected it. He could be seen removing a magazine from the gun which appeared to be loaded
Law enforcement officers carrying less-lethal-munitions, respond to protesters near the campaign event with President Joe Biden outside the Peacock Theater on Saturday in LA
Pro-Palestinian protesters stand in front of the entrance to the theater
Police were in riot gear outside the theater in an attempt to keep pro-Palestinian activists, angry about his administration’s handling of Israel‘s war against Hamas in Gaza, away from the theater.
At one point, the demonstrators seemed to completely block the entrance to the venue in an attempt to disrupt the event.
Just as at countless other demonstrations so far this year, protesters could be seen waving Palestinian flags while chanting rhymes showing their support for Palestine.
Some protesters could also be seen wearing shirts reading ‘cease fire now’ and ‘not in our name.’
Inside the theater, some of Hollywood’s brightest stars headlined the glitzy fundraiser, helping raise what Biden’s reelection campaign said was $28 million.
Pro-Palestinian Protesters gathered in front of an entrance to a campaign fundraiser for Biden
Just as at countless 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 shirts reading ‘cease fire now’ and ‘not in our name.’
George Clooney , Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand were among those who took to the stage.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Biden and former President Barack Obama, who both stressed the need to defeat former Donald Trump in a race that’s expected to be exceedingly close.
During more than half an hour of discussion, Kimmel asked if the country was suffering from amnesia about the presumptive Republican nominee, to which Biden responded, ‘all we gotta do is remember what it was like’ when Trump was in the White House.
Just how important the event was to Biden’s reelection bid could be seen in the president flying through the night across nine time zones, from the G7 summit in southern Italy to Southern California, to attend.
He also missed a summit in Switzerland about ways to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, instead dispatching Vice President Kamala Harris who made her own whirlwind trip of her own to represent the United States there – a stark reminder of the delicate balance between geopolitics and his bid to win a second term.
Biden was accompanied on arrival in LA by relatives including daughter Ashley and 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 evening
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 start of the interview with Biden and Obama.
The comedian deadpanned, ‘I was told I was getting introduced by Batman, not Bateman.’
But he quickly pivoted to far more serious topics, saying that ‘so much is at stake in this election‘ and listing off women’s rights, health care and noting that ‘even the ballot is on the ballot’ in a reference to the Biden administration’s calls to expand voting rights.
Kimmel asked the president what he was most proud of accomplishing, and Biden said he thought the administration’s approach to the economy ‘is working.’
‘We have the strongest economy in the world today,’ Biden said, adding ‘we try to give ordinary people an even chance.’
Biden told the crowd in California that ‘we passed every major piece of legislation we attempted to get done.’
Obama expressed admiration for sweeping legislation on health care, public works, the environment, technology manufacturing, gun safety and other major initiatives that the administration of his former vice president has overseen.
‘What we’re seeing now is a byproduct of in 2016. There were a whole bunch of folks who, for whatever reason, sat out,’ said Obama adding, ‘hopefully we have learned our lesson, because these elections matter in very concrete ways.’
When the conversation turned to three Supreme Court justices who Trump nominated and who helped overturn Roe v. Wade – the landmark decision guaranteeing a constitutional right to an abortion – the crowd expressed its displeasure to which Obama responded, ‘don’t hiss, vote.’
Biden said that if he were to win four more years in the White House he may get the chance to nominate two new justices – though even that probably wouldn’t drastically overhaul a court that current features a 6-3 conservative majority.
He also suggested that if Trump wins back the White House, ‘one of the scariest parts’ was the Supreme Court and how there has ‘never been a court that’s so far out of step.’
Obama expressed admiration for sweeping legislation on health care, public works, the environment, technology manufacturing, gun safety and other major initiatives that the administration of his former vice president 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 worried that, if Trump is reelected, ‘He’s going to appoint two more who fly their flags upside down.’
Biden’s campaign said it was still counting, but that Saturday night’s gathering had taken in at least $28 million – more money than any event for a Democratic candidate in history.
Biden held an early lead in the campaign money race against Trump, but the former president has gained ground in recent months, after formally locking up the Republican nomination.
Trump outpaced Biden’s New York event in April, raking in $50.5 million at a gathering of major donors at the Florida home of billionaire investor John Paulson.
Biden’s shift to US electioneering also marks the start of a more intense campaign phase ahead of November’s knife-edge election
The former president’s campaign and the Republican National Committee announced they had raised a whopping $141 million in May, padded 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 bump came after Trump and the Republican Party announced collecting $76 million in April, far exceeding Biden and the Democrats´ $51 million for the month.
Biden’s shift to US electioneering also marks the start of a more intense campaign phase ahead of November’s knife-edge election.
Polls show him and Trump largely neck-and-neck, with many voters turned off by a rematch between the nation’s oldest president and a 78-year-old convicted felon.