Anti-vaxxers in posh Los Angeles neighbourhood berate parents walking kids to school with masks

Protesters interrupted National Walk to School Day over mask mandate

Protesters confront parents walking their kids to primary school in an upscale neighbourhood of Los Angeles. (Twitter.com/@SamBraslow)

Anti-vaccine protesters berated parents in an exclusive California neighborhood as they walked their children to an elementary school.

Several dozen protesters gathered outside Hawthorne Elementary School in Beverly Hills and confronted parents and students about wearing masks.

Some of the protesters urged the parents to sue Beverly Hills School District, even though the state of California has mandated mask wearing.

The protesters disrupted National Walk to School Day and accused the parents of “traumatising” their children,

“That’s my choice, you better respect my choice,” one frustrated mother told the group of protesters.

All students in California are required to wear masks at school, and Governor Gavin Newsom announced that all pupils will be required to be vaccinated when the FDA gives their age group full approval.

“This is rape,” shouted Shiva Bagheri, the organiser of the Beverly Hills Freedom Rally, according to video posted on social media.

“They’re trying to rape our children with this poison. They’re going to rape their lives away.”

The protesters also confronted Beverly Hills mayor Robert Wunderlich, who invited three of them to meet with him away from the school.

“You don’t care about the kids!” interrupted Ms Bagheri.

California became the first state in the country to require students to be fully vaccinated for in-person instruction.

“Vaccines work,” Mr Newsom said.

“It’s why California leads the country in preventing school closures and has the lowest case rates. We encourage other states to follow our lead to keep our kids safe and prevent the spread of Covid-19.”

The state expects that based on current FDA timelines, students grades 7-12 will be required to be vaccinated by 1 July 2022.

California has seen 4.78m Covid-19 cases during the pandemic, with 69,955 deaths.