Multiple people, including a woman wearing a gorilla mask, threw eggs at Republican California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Videos of the incident appear to show an egg being thrown toward Elder as he walked through the Venice neighborhood with members of his campaign team during a trip to the community to address the homeless crisis. One of Elder’s staffers puts his arm on the Republican’s back and warns, “We’re getting egged from behind.”
Moments later, someone launched a second egg toward the candidate and his team. The video does not show whether Elder was hit by the eggs during the attack.
Breaking: A flying egg narrowly missed the back of recall candidate @larryelder's head after it was thrown by an activist wearing a gorilla mask in Venice. A scuffle broke out and the candidate was escorted into an SUV.
Here's the raw (pun intended)
CW: f-bombs@SpecNews1SoCal pic.twitter.com/FeFx3wnuSD— Kate Cagle (@KateCagle) September 8, 2021
Several people became aggressive with Elder’s staff.
The woman in the gorilla mask appeared to slap a staffer in the face, while a man shouted at Elder that he is a “piece of sh**” as the candidate was escorted away from the situation.
Dozens of Republican candidates are challenging California governor Gavin Newsom in the September 14 recall election, though Elder has emerged as a favorite among GOP voters.
To remain in office, Newsom will need to garner a majority vote. Newsom has repeatedly asked his supporters to focus on voting “no” to the recall and to leave blank a second question that asks who of 46 candidates should replace the governor.
If voters remove the governor, a recall competitor needs a plurality of the vote to win.
Elder, a conservative talk show host, would be the first black governor of California if elected.