Politics & Government

Larry Elder Egged As Hostile Crowd Chases Him From Venice Stop

A woman in a gorilla mask egged Republican Larry Elder and a crowd chased him away during a campaign visit at a Venice homeless encampment.

Republican recall candidate Larry Elder addresses the "Asian Rally for Yes on Recall" at the Asian Garden Mall on September 4, 2021, in Westminster, California.
Republican recall candidate Larry Elder addresses the "Asian Rally for Yes on Recall" at the Asian Garden Mall on September 4, 2021, in Westminster, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)

VENICE, CA — Republican Larry Elder stopped his scheduled campaign trip to a Venice homeless camp outside the Google offices Wednesday when a woman in a gorilla mask and pink wig egged him and a crowd started to chase the candidate.

UPDATE: Police Scramble To Find Larry Elder Egger

The GOP gubernatorial recall candidate was walking near Rose Avenue, along Hampton Avenue, Wednesday afternoon when the crowd swarmed and a woman wearing a gorilla mask appeared to throw an egg while she biked by the group. The woman missed, throwing the egg just over his head and the crowd.

Find out what's happening in Venice-Mar Vistawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In videos capturing the incident, the leading Republican in the gubernatorial recall appears to be pushed inside a vehicle and drives away from the area.

Elder also stopped by Northridge Wednesday. The last-minute trip happened at Brent's Deli — one of many trips across the Southland.

Find out what's happening in Venice-Mar Vistawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The candidate said a member of the security team was hit by a pellet gun during the attack.

Polling as of Wednesday shows 54.3 percent of voters will vote "no" to removing Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom from office, according to FiveThirtyEight. Should he be removed, polling shows Elder leading the race for his replacement.

Elder is host of the nationally syndicated "The Larry Elder Show" on talk radio, a newspaper columnist and author. He is also a former trial attorney and small business owner. He was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, his father, a World War II Marine Corps veteran, owned a restaurant, while his mother was a clerical worker for the War Department.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 4:44 a.m. Thursday with Elder's response via Twitter.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Venice-Mar Vista