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Actor Jodie Sweetin, child star of the ’90s sitcom Full House, was pushed to the ground by Los Angeles police officers during an abortion rights protest on Sunday.
Video footage of the incident was shared to social media Sunday as Sweetin, 40, led a group of people protesting the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling.
Photographer Michael Ade captured the push. In the video, two Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers can be seen shoving Sweetin off an embankment on the side of the highway. Sweetin lands hard on one knee before quickly getting back up. The crowd can be heard chanting “No justice, no peace” in the background.
“What the f–k is wrong with you guys?” one protester can be heard yelling to the officers in response.
Sweetin, who played middle child Stephanie Tanner in the ABC sitcom, released a statement Sunday responding to concerns for her well-being.
“I’m extremely proud of the hundreds of people who showed up yesterday to exercise their First Amendment rights and take immediate action to peacefully protest the giant injustices that have been delivered from our Supreme Court,” she said, according to multiple news outlets.
“Our activism will continue until our voices are heard and action is taken. This will not deter us, we will continue fighting for our rights. We are not free until ALL of us are free.”
Other video posted from Ade shows the group of LAPD officers violently pushing back protesters and hitting several of them with batons in downtown L.A. One young woman is pushed to the group, hitting her head on a bicycle, while another person shields their head while taking strikes from several officers’ batons. Two other protesters can be seen being thrown around by their clothing.
The LAPD told NBC Los Angeles that they have seen the videos and are investigating the use of force used by their staff.
“The LAPD is aware of a video clip of a woman being pushed to the ground by officers not allowing the group to enter on foot and overtake the 101 freeway,” the statement sent to NBC4 said.
“The force used will be evaluated against the LAPD’s policy and procedure. As the nation continues to wrestle with the latest Supreme Court decision, the Los Angeles Police Department will continue to facilitate 1st Amendment rights, while protecting life and property.”
The Supreme Court voted Friday to end a nation-wide constitutional right to abortion in the U.S., now giving individual states the power to ban, limit or allow access to abortion. The ruling overturns nearly 50 years of federal abortion protections.
Supreme Court justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh voted in favour of ending the landmark federal abortion protection. Chief Justice John Roberts did not approve of ending Roe.
“The majority has overruled Roe and Casey for one and only one reason: because it has always despised them, and now it has the votes to discard them,” wrote Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan in a joint, 59-page dissent.
“With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent.”
The ruling sparked a wave of protests across the U.S. and Canada over the weekend.
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