Anti-Vaccine Protesters Take On School Students, Parents

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Anti-vaccine protesters followed Hawthorne Elementary School students and parents on their walk to school Wednesday while holding signs and yelling about California's recent student vaccine mandate.

California became the first state to mandate vaccines for all eligible students on Oct. 1. The move proved controversial, and protesters have since spoken out against the mandate across Los Angeles and the state.

Many Beverly Hills parents walked their kids to school Wednesday as part of a national Walk to School Day along with Mayor Bob Wunderlich and Rachelle Marcus, president of the Beverly Hills Unified School District's board of education.

Protesters met students and their families outside Kelly's Coffee & Fudge Factory, which is about a half-mile away from Hawthorne, and walked with them all the way to the school.

In videos, protesters can be heard trying to engage parents and children, calling masks "child abuse" and likening vaccine mandates to sexual assault. The protesters argued that Walk to School day was "another manipulation and photo op," according to a flyer for the protest.

Controversial organizer Shiva Bagheri, known for punching a breast cancer patient during a rally, is the leading voice in many videos of Wednesday's protest.

The city of Beverly Hills was disturbed by the way the protesters expressed themselves and intentionally targeting an event for children and families, said Keith Sterling, the city's chief communications officer. Sterling said he respected the protesters' right to express their opinions, but added that many city personnel were disturbed by the choice to disrupt a school day for children.

In videos, Wunderlich can be seen speaking with a group of protesters, trying to set up a meeting in a calmer setting. Sterling said the mayor met with protesters Thursday.

The city will review all footage from Wednesday's protest to determine if any violations of the municipal code occurred, Sterling said.

Superintendent Michael Bregy also expressed disapproval of the protesters' behavior.

"I was gravely disappointed in the events that unfolded," Bregy said in a statement. "The behavior exhibited by grown adults is nothing short of atrocious. Intimidating our youngest members of society, threatening students and making them feel unsafe, is unacceptable."

Hawthorne Elementary Principal Sarah Kaber said she discussed the protest and the effect it had on students at Wednesday's school assembly.

"At Hawthorne, our school values are Honorable, Engaged, Responsible, and Open-Minded. On Wednesday at our school assembly, I shared with all of our students and staff that although we fully believe in being Open-Minded about our opinions and feelings, some of the grownups were not so Honorable in the way they expressed them," Kaber said in a statement.

Many students looked scared and seemed not to understand the situation, staff reporter for the Beverly Hills Courier Samuel Braslow told CNN. Braslow said many children didn't want their parents to leave and were in tears Wednesday morning.

"Some students felt scared and upset. Those feelings are absolutely valid. Our students must feel safe to be able to come to school. Our school counseling staff have been into every class to support our students, and we will continue to be in dialogue with them over the coming days and weeks," Kaber said.

The Beverly Hills Firefighters' Association, the union that represents Beverly Hills firefighters, posted a flyer for the protest on its Instagram story. Sterling said the post was "extremely disappointing" to the city.

Bregy said in a statement he "feels let down by the organizations and people who promoted this protest on their official Instagram account." The district did not confirm whether he was referencing the association's post.

On Tuesday, protesters flocked to City Hall to speak against vaccine mandates affecting the Beverly Hills Fire Department. The president of the association, Victor Gutierrez, spoke at the rally.

This is not the first anti-vaccine protest to target Beverly Hills students.

In April, a small group of anti-mask protesters stood outside Hawthorne holding signs and trying to hand out flyers and talk to the children.

Patch reached out to the Hawthorne Elementary School's Parent Teacher Association, Beverly Hills Police Department and the Beverly Hills Firefighters' Association for comment.