Pro-Palestinian protestors ignite smoke bombs, throw fake blood outside Brentwood home

BRENTWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An investigation is underway after pro-Palestinian protestors apparently targeted the Brentwood home owned by the president of a pro-Israel organization, igniting smoke bombs and throwing fake blood onto the driveway of the property.

Video of Thursday's incident has been circulating on social media since then. The Los Angeles Angeles Police Department responded to the home on Foxboro Drive around 10:45 a.m.

Roughly two dozen protesters showed up outside the home, beginning with the group banging on a dumpster and chanting in the street. The home belongs to the president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.

Besides smoke bombs and red paint, protesters tossed cloth-wrapped bundles with red paint on them, likely to symbolize dead infants.

A neighbor, who does not want to be identified, says he confronted the group while holding an American flag.

"And I was walking with the flag trying to let them know it was private property, you cannot be here. And one of them hit me on the back," the neighbor said.

He and other neighbors say someone swung a pipe, hitting his legs and his head. The LAPD took reports for vandalism, hate crime and assault with a deadly weapon.

"I understand the First Amendment, the right to protest, but as soon as you go to a private property or become aggressive, or you start to insult people, you gotta stop," the neighbor said.

The LAPD said no citations were issued and no arrests were made during the incident.

Police spent part of Friday combing through evidence as neighbors cleaned up.

City and area leaders have condemned this form of protest.

Beverly Hills councilmember and former mayor Lili Bosse shared the video on Instagram and said: "Thanksgiving. I have no words. Today, on Thanksgiving, pro-Hamas activists committed a terroristic hate crime in Brentwood. These extremist terrorist sympathizers threw smoke bombs at and vandalized the home of the national president of one of America's leading Jewish organizations. Trying to find light amidst this hatred. My heart is broken to see this. LAPD, LA Mayor, District Attorney, there must be consequences to this hate."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Friday said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she spoke with police Chief Michel Moore about the "disturbing incident."

On Friday, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in the Fairfax District, marching through city streets and into The Grove shopping center.

The LAPD went on a citywide tactical alert in response to the march, allowing the agency to keep officers on duty beyond their normal shifts to respond to a major incident.

"The LAPD's objective is to ensure public safety for ALL, while facilitating the First Amendment rights of those peacefully demonstrating," the department said in a statement.

City News Service contributed to this report.