This is the shocking moment a mass brawl broke out at a homeless encampment in Venice Beach — just weeks after Karen Bass claimed it had been cleaned up.
At least four people were seen throwing punches outside the iconic Rose Cafe, screaming profanities as the fight spiraled in broad daylight.
The attack took place in a four-block area that was once the site of the mayor’s Inside Safe program, a housing initiative launched when she took office.
For locals, it’s the latest sign that the area is slipping. Craig Ribeiro, a longtime resident who owns property just blocks away, says patience has run out.
He told the Post: “The mayor was elected to clean this up. This is just unbelievable. She held a victory lap here, a celebration at a place we all loved, and now it’s shut down, covered in graffiti, overrun.
He added: “It’s an eyesore. It’s a symbol of what our neighborhood has become under her watch.”
Ribeiro said the new encampments are illegal and violating at the very lease basic ADA laws by blocking sidewalks.
“I don’t understand how this continues to be an issue, these encampment are breaking accessibility access, and now we’re witnessing fights at the Rose Cafe,” he said.
Rose Cafe is just two block from Venice Beach, which has long held the title of the second most-visited destination in the region after Disneyland, it attracts roughly 28,000 to 30,000 daily visitors to its famous 2-mile boardwalk, iconic Muscle Beach, and vibrant skate plaza.
On March 17, crews cleared a large encampment at Rose Avenue and Hampton Drive. “The law is not enforced,” Ribeiro said. “The people who live out here know that and so its pure lawlessness,”
Footage captured by KTLA showed conditions returning almost immediately after the March 17 cleanup. One unhoused woman told ABC 7 she planned to sleep “right back where I was until I get housing… I’m not running away.”
The mayor’s office insists the city wouldn’t back down.
“Remember, before Mayor Bass was elected, a citywide encampment resolution strategy did not exist. But now, because of Mayor Bass’ efforts, street homelessness is down by 17.5%. She will continue to be relentless in her work to remove encampments across the City and help restore neighborhoods.”
But on the ground, neighbors say the opposite is playing out, and now, the fallout is turning violent.
A spokesperson for the mayor told The Post: “In 2023, Mayor Bass launched one of the first Inside Safe operations near this location because we knew it was one of the toughest areas to address. To date, the site brought more than 100 unhoused Angelenos inside.”
Her office also said that Inside Safe, the Council Office and multiple City departments have regularly returned to this location over the last three years to bring people inside and clean the area.
“We will continue to do so. We have known this is an extremely attractive area for encampments, but we will not be deterred.”
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