Republican California gubernatorial recall candidate Larry Elder encountered an angry crowd at a campaign stop in Venice on Wednesday.
The conservative radio personality, who leads among Republicans vying to unseat incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom in the Sept. 14 recall, arrived in Venice near the intersection of Hampton Drive and Sunset Avenue shortly before noon.
A crowd reportedly gathered as he walked along the street to tour a homeless encampment on nearby Third Avenue.
Elder was met with jeers from the assembled crowd. Things reportedly then turned physical. Video captured by several local news outlets showed a woman on a bicycle wearing a gorilla mask throwing an egg at the candidate, though she appeared to miss.
A man believed to be a staffer for Elder's campaign approached the woman. She reportedly screamed and was seen throwing at least two punches at the aide.
Elder was quickly escorted into a nearby vehicle and driven away from the scene.
TMZ reported that a pellet gun was fired during the incident, though the discharge was not caught on video.
The Los Angeles Police Department is looking into the incident.
At a later campaign stop, Elder told TMZ the anger he encountered in Venice was attributable to the issue of homelessness.
"There's a lot of anger, a lot of unhappiness there," Elder said. "Homeowners want something done. Families want something done. Children that live there, they want something done. This is a danger not only to the homeless people but to the non-homeless people."
A recent statewide poll found that 58 percent of Californians oppose the recall of Gov. Newsom. That number is likely higher in Venice, where 71 percent of locals voted Democratic in the 2020 presidential election.
