2 days ago
‘I haven't slept properly since I got here, there's sirens and chaos every night'
Wicklow native Jill Vickers-Kealy (33) stayed in downtown LA from Sunday night until Wednesday morning, and found herself in the midst of chaotic scenes on Monday night.
Vickers-Kealy, who lives in Vancouver and works as a goldsmith, was visiting LA to see its jewellery district and to meet friends.
However, when she arrived the jewellery shops were shut as they were concerned about looting, and her friends, who are from Mexico and are in the US legally, decided not to go to downtown LA due to fears of being detained.
'My plans changed completely,' said Vickers-Kealy. 'On Sunday night, I could kind of hear the fireworks and sirens from my hotel room in downtown LA, but it seemed further away.
'But on Monday night, it all kicked off. The protests were happening in another part of downtown, near the freeway, about a 20-minute walk from where I was.
'I thought I was far enough way that it would be OK to go out. So I used Google Maps but it led me down a street where there was a police barricade, so I turned back.
'They blocked off the streets on the perimeter around the ICE HQ in LA where the protests were happening.
'When I was walking around, I saw people in masks, respirators and goggles but I didn't have anything. I realised I was walking in the wrong place – I didn't even have a mask.'
Vickers-Kealy said she turned away from where the streets were blocked off and walked to a quieter street where she found an open bar, which she ended up being locked into as the unrest spread to the street outside the bar.
'The bar staff said they had to lockdown the bar and put the shutters down, because someone was at the next business with a crowbar and they were worried about looting,' said Vickers-Kealy.
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'Then it all progressed up to the bar, and we couldn't figure out if the people outside were ICE, the National Guard or the military.
'We were just sitting there in the bar talking, when I realised I was stuck there, and everything that was happening outside wasn't stopping.'
Having arrived at the bar at 10pm that night, Vickers-Kealy wasn't able to leave until 2.30am the following morning.
She walked back to her hotel and found it had been daubed with anti-Trump and anti-ICE graffiti, and some nearby businesses had been looted.
'The place looked completely different to how it was when I left it a few hours before. I haven't slept properly since I got here, there have been sirens and chaos every night.'
A curfew was put in place by the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, on Tuesday night from 8pm to 6am, across areas of downtown LA that have been affected by looting and rioting.
Thousands of National Guard and marine troops were deployed to the area on Tuesday by US president Donald Trump, increasing tensions between Mr Trump and the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and the mayor.
Gov Newsom issued a statewide address on Tuesday and said the deployment of more troops would lead to 'fanning the flames even harder'.
Vickers-Kealy said things had quietened down by Tuesday night due to the curfew being implemented.
Tuesday night was the first night since she arrived where she wasn't kept awake by the constant sound of fireworks and sirens.
'It's only been quieter [on Tuesday night] because there's a curfew now.
'I can only hear the sound of power tools, and I can't tell if that's people trying to loot or if they're boarding up their businesses.
'The CVS and the Apple store nearby were boarded up when I went out earlier.
'A lot of the chaos I've seen here in the last few days seemed opportunistic.
'A lot of the people I've spoken to who live in LA said there were annoyed by the looting, because it was detracting from the cause.'
Vickers-Kealy left LA to go back to Vancouver on yesterday (wed) morning, and speaking ahead of her flight, she said was looking forward to getting back home.
'I can't wait to see my dog, and to just have a good night's sleep. I've never been to LA before, so this has been my first impression of it.
'I have a lot of friends who live there, who I had hoped to see, and even though they're legal and have all their documents, they didn't feel safe coming to downtown LA. I feel really bad for them.'
