Free Republic

A fight between rival groups of black and Latino students at Locke High School quickly escalated into a campus-wide melee Friday, with as many as 600 students brawling until police restored calm with billy clubs. The troubled campus in South Los Angeles was locked down after the fight broke out at 12:55 p.m., as students returned from lunch to their fifth-period classes. Overwhelmed school officials called Los Angeles police for help, but students and faculty said it took about half an hour before dozens of officers, many in riot gear, restored order. "The kids were crazy, running from place to...

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A coach in a videotaped Pee Wee football brawl was charged with misdemeanor assault Tuesday, prosecutors said. An amateur video shows Robert Watson, 39, charging onto a field and tackling an 18-year-old referee. The video goes on to show a mob of parents surrounding them in a melee. Assistant District Attorney James Sales said prosecutors had been waiting for photos relating to the brawl from the Corpus Christi Police Department. "You always like to see the injury," he said. "Basically, it's a black eye." The video, taken during a Nov. 4 Super Bowl game of 5-...

SPRINGFIELD - A Springfield man is being held on $10,000 cash bail after starting a courtroom melee during a murder case hearing on Monday, according to court records. Vandrell Johnson, 24, of 29 Rush St., pleaded innocent in Springfield District Court yesterday before Judge William J. Boyle on charges of assault and battery and disrupting court proceedings. He is being held at the Hampden County Correctional Facility in Ludlow. At a motion hearing of a murder case at about 12:45 p.m. on Monday, Johnson, a spectator, charged after the two of the case's defendants, Aaron Lester and Derrick Washington, as...

There were no winners on a youth rugby field this weekend. A Rohnert Park girls rugby coach and his brother could face criminal charges, possibly this week, for their roles in kicking Alameda girls rugby coach Craig Stewart in the head and punching stand-in referee Paul Berman in the face three times. Another Alameda assistant coach also sustained rib injuries.Seven others, possibly parents or spectators, also could face criminal charges, police said. The Northern California Rugby Football Union suspended all of the players and coaches in the Rohnert Park rugby programs, effective Monday. The victims, meanwhile, are not only gashed...

Julie Haener interviewing a Sgt. Ganer who reports that one arrest and two detainments have accompanied suppression of a "melee" or some kind of conflagration between groups of people celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Richmond, CA, a San Francisco suburb. (Map.)

Inside Column "A Picture's Worth..." by Ken Fowler It's tough to describe adequately a powerful picture with pedestrian words, but there are some times when it's worth trying. One I saw Saturday night deserves the effort, as it accomplishes what only the great pieces of art do - it tells the story of something seemingly unrelated to the subject matter that is terribly important. On the left, this photo shows Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and first lady Laura Bush smiling at reporters as they enter the ballroom in which an APEC gala dinner is about to commence. To the right,...

Baseball's big party got thrown a curveball before it even began. Officials from the sports world and the city government were in Union Station today to confirm what was already widely known -- that the Expos are being re-named the Washington Nationals. But before the media event got underway, D-C Statehood Green Party member Adam Eidinger jumped onto the stage holding a sign protesting Mayor Tony Williams' planned stadium deal. Eidinger was jumped by several men, including former Washington Senators announcer Charlie Brotman. A tussle ensued, and the podium nearly fell over, before security managed to drag Eidinger off stage....

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Indiana's Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson charged into the stands and fought with fans in the final minute of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, and the brawl forced an early and ugly end to the Pacers' 97-82 win. Officials stopped the game with 45.9 seconds remaining after pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands once fans got involved by throwing things at the players near the scorer's table.

More deputies will be at Lexington County high school football games after what police said was a near riot involving 250 young people Friday at Irmo High School's stadium. Officers had to draw their guns, but no shots were fired. Three deputies were hurt. Four teenagers and two adults were arrested, one of whom had gang ties, police said. The police report described the disturbance as "a life or death situation." Sheriff James Metts said Monday he doesn't recall a school disturbance on this scale in his 38 years of law enforcement in Lexington County. Two dozen officers eventually were...