L.A. visit by U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions sparks downtown protest

Dozens of protesters were gathering in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday morning to demonstrate a visit by Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, who is scheduled to deliver a speech to a criminal justice organization in the afternoon.

Immigration advocacy groups are targeting Sessions because of his role in defending President Trump’s “zero tolerance” border policy that recently led to thousands of immigrant children and parents being detained and separated indefinitely.

The groups will rally downtown about 11 a.m. outside the U.S. attorney’s office before moving to the members-only California Club, where Sessions is expected to have lunch, according to protest organizers. Sessions is scheduled to give a speech at the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation’s annual luncheon at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in the afternoon, according to the Department of Justice.

By 8:30 a.m., about 150 demonstrators had gathered outside the federal courthouse on Spring Street.

Linda Perez, 68, said she woke up at 6:15 a.m. and took the train from Hollywood to downtown L.A. to voice her displeasure with Sessions.

“That man is evil. He’s separating kids from families,” Perez said. A former secretary for the Los Angeles Unified School District, Perez donned an “Impeach Trump” pin on her shirt as she held a sign reading “All religions believe in justice.”

She felt it was important to demonstrate against Sessions and his policies because she sees herself in the parents and kids affected by Trump’s zero tolerance policy.

“It could have been me,” said Perez, who emigrated from Mexico in 1994.