Several thousand protesters demonstrated in a "Millions March for First Amendment Rights'' Saturday in the Fairfax and Miracle Mile districts of Los Angeles.
Protesters chanted, “Hands up, don’t shoot, can’t breathe,” in reference to the police-related deaths that have sparked demonstrations across the country.
Dozens of social media posts said the Saturday march would be a peaceful protest to air claims of police misconduct in Ferguson, New York and Los Angeles.
At one point, rappers The Game and Tyga marched arm-in-arm with protesters.
“This is a modern-day revolution,” said demonstrator and UC Riverside student Breana Ross.
“I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself, and here I am,” said another protester, Jessica Franco, who is a University of Wisconsin student.
The march began about noon at Pan Pacific Park, near South Gardner Street and West Third Street.
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One map posted by organizers showed the march going east on Beverly Boulevard, south on La Brea Avenue, west on Wilshire Boulevard, north on Fairfax Avenue, where they had a closing prayer.
The LAPD Wilshire station began rolling street closures to protect the marchers at 1:15 p.m., Vanegas said.
#MillionsMarchLA seems to end with crowd singing "We shall overcome." #LosAngeles - crowd now begins its ma... https://t.co/fJF8OkO5SS — Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBCLA) December 28, 2014
#MillionsMarchLA stopping for closing prayer at Crescent Hghts and Beverly #LosAngeles https://t.co/QcL3aIzwrv — Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBCLA) December 28, 2014
City News Service contributed to this report.