Hundreds clashed with LA police ahead of the city's plan to clear a homeless encampment in Echo Park

• Los Angeles plans to clear out a homeless encampment at a city park with more than a hundred tents.
• Housing advocates gathered at Echo Park Lake Wednesday to protest the removal of the encampment.
• Videos showed police and protesters clashing, with LAPD declaring multiple unlawful assemblies.

Protesters and police clashed in Los Angeles Wednesday night as the city carried out plans to clear a public park of a homeless encampment that has ballooned during the pandemic.

The encampment at Echo Park Lake has become a "commune-like society," according to the Los Angeles Times, with a garden, shared food, and self-policing. More than 170 tents or basic structures were at the park as of last week.

The Times reported Monday that the city had secretly been making plans to fence off, clear out, and clean up the park, and would remove the homeless people residing there as well all the tents. The city's planned repairs to the park have been estimated at $500,000.

With the city planning to officially close the park on Thursday, hundreds of protesters and advocates for the homeless demonstrated against the plans. Dozens of Los Angeles Police Department officers and vehicles were also at the scene, while helicopters were spotted overhead.

Video shared online showed the groups facing off. Police declared multiple unlawful assemblies, with the LAPD saying on Twitter "officers have received projectiles" and that reports on social media that police are using tear gas are "completely inaccurate."

People online speculated that the heavy police presence meant the police would be evicting people tonight, but the LAPD said fencing is being installed around the park, and that the people already in the park will be allowed to stay overnight but cannot come and go.

Los Angeles City Council member Mitch O'Farrell also released a statement in response to the protests, saying the police were on site to assist in the fence installation.

"Department personnel are deployed in that area so that those efforts can begin in a safe and unimpeded manner," he said. "Our homeless service providers will return tomorrow morning to continue their work with the park's unhoused residents to offer shelter and services to anyone who wants and needs the assistance."

People first arrived at the park Wednesday morning to protest the removal of the people living there. A sign at the park read "We refuse to be swept into dark corners," while protesters carried signs that read "People are not pests" and "We need long-term solutions."

The city said it would be supplying housing to all of the residents of the park, with Mayor Eric Garcetti saying Wednesday only 19 people were still living there as of last weekend, despite the more than 100 tents that were still up, the local NBC station reported. Activists expressed doubt.

Garcetti said the city has secured a hotel room for every person that was in the park.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for homelessness during the pandemic say people should not be removed from encampments if there is not adequate housing for them.

"Clearing encampments can cause people to disperse throughout the community and break connections with service providers. This increases the potential for infectious disease spread," the guidelines say.