A few thousand demonstrators gathered Sunday in Los Angeles in support of protesters in Iran.
Marchers, some waving the flag of Iran before the Islamic Revolution, rallied downtown near Los Angeles City Hall.
The police department estimated the “Solidarity with the People of Iran” event drew about 4,000 demonstrators. The rally was peaceful and there were no arrests, the department said.
Activists say a crackdown on nationwide protests against the theocracy in Iran has killed thousands of people. Protesters have flooded the streets in Iran’s capital of Tehran and its second-largest city.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
Since the collapse of the Iranian currency in December, Iranians have taken to the streets to demand regime change.
“Iranians do not want this government. I think they’ve been loud and clear,” said rally organizer Kate Dehbashi. “They want to transition to a new government and Iran can be very successful like it’s been before the Islamic Revolution.”
Several of the demonstrators told NBC4 they have been in the United States for decades and are now horrified to see images of people in their home country being killed while protesting for secular and democratic government.
“We have so many freedoms here and what we see there happening is beyond comprehension,” said Ariel Rofeim, who is the son of a Jewish Iranian man who fled to the U.S. over 40 years ago. “This is much bigger than internal politics or an issue that we see happening in the Middle East. This is a battle for humanity.”