Video shared on social media shows actress Jodie Sweetin being thrown to the ground by several Los Angeles Police Department officers in full tactical gear during an abortion rights protest in LA on Saturday.
Sweetin, best known for her role as Stephanie Tanner in “Full House,” confirmed that she is the woman in the video, which was posted online on Instagram and shared widely on that social media platform and on Twitter.
“I’m extremely proud of the hundreds of people who showed up yesterday to exercise their First Amendment rights and take immediate action to peacefully protest the giant injustices that have been delivered from our Supreme Court,” Sweetin said in a statement shared by her publicist.
“Our activism will continue until our voices are heard and action is taken. This will not deter us, we will continue fighting for our rights. We are not free until ALL of us are free.”
The protest was part of the second day of a series of demonstrations that are still going in Los Angeles and around the United States, in response to the Supreme Court’s 5-4 Friday ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, which protected the constitutional right to an abortion.
The decision puts the ability to regulate abortion access back into the hands of state legislatures. Roughly half of U.S. states are expected to ban abortion as a result, leaving approximately 33.6 million women without access to safe abortions.
The LAPD issued a statement in response to the incident and the reaction to it.
“The LAPD is aware of a video clip of a woman being pushed to the ground by officers not allowing the group to enter on foot and overtake the 101 freeway,” the statement sent to NBC4 said.
“The force used will be evaluated against the LAPD’s policy and procedure. As the nation continues to wrestle with the latest Supreme Court decision, the Los Angeles Police Department will continue to facilitate 1st Amendment rights, while protecting life and property.”
Author and journalist Shaun King shared the video, originally posted to Instagram by @belikemike, on his own Instagram page.
“That’s my friend @JodieSweetin – who many of you know from Full House – being assaulted by the LAPD,” King said in his post. “Jodie was literally trying to lead people OFF of the freeway.”
“I’m appreciative of Jodie because she’s been standing up for civil rights and human rights and now women’s rights,” his post continued.
The incident involving Sweetin is not the only recorded altercation between protestors and police during the demonstrations.
A reporter from LA Taco, a platform covering food and culture, tweeted on Friday that he was assaulted by a group of officers, claiming they shoved him and jabbed another reporter in the stomach with a baton, despite the two idenifying themselves as press.
Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets to protest the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on June 24, 2022.
The video Lexis-Oliver Ray shared on Twitter shows officers in riot gear shouting “Leave the area, go back” and Ray describing himself as a member of the press.
Spokeswoman Norma Eisenman of the LAPD’s Media Relations Division told City News Service Saturday that the department had no comment on Ray’s tweets. She added that no media staging area was set up for the demonstrations.
Friday night’s protests also saw at least one protestor launch a firework into a crowd, prompting police to issue a tactical alert and declare the protest an unlawful assembly.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore and the Police Protective League both issued statements condemning the violence at the protests.
