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LAPD hunts two men 'of interest' in attack of black woman at Stop the Steal rally in LA where she was 'saved' by Good Samaritan Trump supporter who then lost his job

The LAPD has revealed it is hunting two men described as people of interest in an attack on a black woman at a 'Stop the Steal' rally after she was allegedly 'saved' by a Good Samaritan Donald Trump supporter.

The manhunt comes amid calls to reinstate to job of the apparent Samaritan, who was fired from his job at a local car dealership after his superiors spotted him in the footage of the Trump rally. 

Police released photos of the two individuals 'of interest' on social media Monday and asked for the public's help identifying them in connection to the alleged hate crime and battery incident in front of City Hall in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Berlinda Nibo, 25, had been walking past the pro-Trump protest on her way home when she was attacked by members of the crowd who ripped off her wig, called her the N-word and pepper sprayed her multiple times.  

Pictures of the violent incident showed a white Trump supporter - identified online as Roy Ball - reportedly coming to her aid by giving her a bear hug and pulling her to safety from the angry mob.

Ball lost his job at the Toyota West Covina car dealership after images surfaced of the incident online.

However, Nibo has since called him her 'hero' and cops have described him as a 'Good Samaritan' leading to questions around whether he has or will be given his job back.

DailyMail.com has reached out to his former employer for information on his current job status. 

The LAPD has revealed it is hunting two men described as people of interest in an attack on a black woman at a 'Stop the Steal' rally WednesdayPolice released photos of the two individuals on social media Monday and asked for the public's help identifying them

The LAPD has revealed it is hunting two men described as people of interest in an attack on a black woman at a 'Stop the Steal' rally after she was allegedly 'saved' by a Good Samaritan Donald Trump supporter

One of the men sought in connection to Wednesday's suspected hate crime was wearing a black baseball cap on backwards, black mask, black tactical vest and ripped jean shorts at the rally. 

Police said he is a white man in his 30s with brown eyes, around 6 feet tall, and weighing about 180 pounds.

The second man being hunted was wearing a gray cap with an American flag emblem on and a gray shirt with 45 written on it - a reference to Trump as the 45th president of the United States. 

He is described as a white man in his early 40s, around 6 feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds.  

The LAPD did not provide any further details on what they believe the two men's involvement in Wednesday's attack to be, just that they are 'persons of interest'. 

Police are asking anyone with information about the men or their whereabouts to contact LAPD Detective Cheng. 

The development comes after the LAPD announced the man identified as Ball was a 'Good Samaritan' who helped Nibo escape the aggressors. 

Police said, after speaking with the victim, they were not investigating him as a suspect.

One man was wearing a black baseball cap on backwards, black mask, black tactical vest and ripped jean shorts at the rally. The second man was wearing a gray cap with an American flag emblem on and a gray shirt with 45 written on it - a reference to Trump as the 45th president

One man was wearing a black baseball cap on backwards, black mask, black tactical vest and ripped jean shorts at the rally. The second man was wearing a gray cap with an American flag emblem on and a gray shirt with 45 written on it - a reference to Trump as the 45th president

A white Trump supporter (pictured) who was attending Wednesday's Stop the Steal rally in Los Angeles, reportedly pulled Berlinda Nibo (pictured) to safety after she was attacked by a mob of MAGA fans

A white Trump supporter who was attending Wednesday's Stop the Steal rally in Los Angeles, reportedly pulled Berlinda Nibo to safety after she was attacked by a mob of MAGA fans

'The woman has been identified & interviewed by the LAPD. Based on her statements & other evidence, a hate crime/battery report was taken,' the force tweeted Thursday.

'The individual seen in the images with his arms wrapped around her - per the victim's statement - was determined to be a Good Samaritan that helped her get away from the hostile crowd, by carrying her to safety.'

However, contradictory reports have been circulating about the day's events with Nibo on the one hand calling him a 'hero' but on the other saying he 'did not help me'. 

'It did not help me. It would've helped me more if he had made way for me to move out of there completely,' she told Buzzfeed News of the moment he bear hugged her and held her arms by her side. 

She said he told her 'I got you, calm down, these people are going to try to kill you' but that she was pepper-sprayed in the face for at least the third time while he had her arms pinned to her side.

She hit out at claims he held her in a 'bear hug' saying Ball held her so tight her chest was red.

'It was hard enough for a person of my color to have red marks on my body -  that's how tight he was really holding me,' she said. 

'It was not fun. It was no bear hug. It was traumatizing.'

Nibo, 25, who lives two blocks away from LA City Hall where the protest took place, said she had been walking home when members of the crowd began harassing and hurling abuse at her

Nibo, 25, who lives two blocks away from LA City Hall where the protest took place, said she had been walking home when members of the crowd began harassing and hurling abuse at her

Photos of the horrific scene captured the moment violent protesters ripped off Nibo's red wig during the altercation

Photos of the horrific scene captured the moment violent protesters ripped off Nibo's red wig during the altercation 

A Trump supporter, identified as Roy Ball, stepped in to give Nibo a bear hug and managed to pull her to safety, according to reports

A Trump supporter, identified as Roy Ball, stepped in to give Nibo a bear hug and managed to pull her to safety, according to reports 

Ball had initially been denounced as a white supremacist agitator on social media by Nibo's supporters who thought he had been assaulting her. Witnesses reportedly claimed there was photo and video footage of the woman being maced in the eyes while being held by Ball

Ball had initially been denounced as a white supremacist agitator on social media by Nibo's supporters who thought he had been assaulting her. Witnesses reportedly claimed there was photo and video footage of the woman being maced in the eyes while being held by Ball

Instead, she said the real heroes were two women who ran and told Ball they were with her so he would let her go with them to the LAPD officers at the event. 

But in an interview with NBC 4 on Thursday, Nibo called Ball 'my hero' and said he warned her people were trying to kill her. 

'That guy, I call him my hero. That guy picked me up, was whispering in my ear, telling me, "Keep going. You're OK. I got you, I have your phone. You're OK, I'm going to get you out of here. These people are trying to kill you",' she said. 

She also told the outlet she had spoken to law enforcement and called Ball's employer Thursday to inform them that he had helped her during the ordeal, but did not say what their response was. 

Negative online reaction to photos of the incident and Ball being identified online led to him losing his job last week.   

One tweet was shared by actress Jane Lynch, who identified Ball as an employee at the Toyota dealership. 

The company then released a statement in response, denouncing his alleged behavior and announcing it was cutting ties with Ball.

Photos of the disturbing scene showed bystanders rushing to help after Nibo was pepper sprayed in the face

Photos of the disturbing scene showed bystanders rushing to help after Nibo was pepper sprayed in the face 

The young black woman is seen being treated moments after she was attacked

The young black woman is seen being treated moments after she was attacked 

'The actions in these photos are inconsistent with Toyota's guiding principle of Respect for People. We do not condone this conduct. While Toyota dealerships are independently owned and operated entities, we can confirm this person is no longer employed by any Toyota dealership,' Toyota said in a tweet.  

It is not clear if he will now be reinstated after Nibo's and the LAPD's assurances that he was not the aggressor.  

The attack on the black 25-year-old took place during the pro-Trump rally in LA, on the same day a violent mob of MAGA fans stormed the US Capitol in Washington DC in a siege that left five dead.  

Nibo was walking past the protest when she began to be harassed by members of the crowd asking her if she voted for the president. 

Nibo, who lives just two blocks away from City Hall, said she had initially tried to dismiss the agitators and 'flipped them off' before continuing her walk home.  

But as she tried to walk away, a mob of 'at least 20 Trump supporters' surrounded her and began shouting abuse in her face and shoving her among members of the crowd. 

She explained the protesters had instigated the altercation by 'calling me the N-word calling me the B-word, saying, 'All lives matter, Black lives doesn't matter'.'  

Toyota announced it had cut ties with Ball and has not revealed if he will be reinstated

Toyota announced it had cut ties with Ball and has not revealed if he will be reinstated 

The LAPD, who is investigating the incident as a hate crime, said Ball was a 'Good Samaritan' during the altercation after receiving statements from Nibo

The LAPD, who is investigating the incident as a hate crime, said Ball was a 'Good Samaritan' during the altercation after receiving statements from Nibo 

The crowd grew more violent and Nibo was attacked and pepper-sprayed in the face multiple times.

The black woman, who was alone, was left virtually defenseless until Ball - who had been attending the event - stepped in to help her.     

The incident was captured on camera by freelance photojournalist Raquel Natalicchio who shared the photos in an Instagram post that has now gone viral. 

Natalicchio said the encounter turned violent as one woman yanked off Nibo's red wig, and two men began hitting her.

'Men holding flag poles began beating alongside others who were punching her.' 

Nibo said she called Ball's employer to inform them that he had helped her in the attack

Nibo said she called Ball's employer to inform them that he had helped her in the attack

The photos also showed Ball was holding Nibo's arms down as he lifted her out of the crowd, which the photographer had said was an aggressive move. 

'At one point a Trump supporter grabbed her from behind, restricting her ability to defend herself , as she continued to get maced right in the eyes,' Natalicchio said of Ball.  

Nataliccho later posted an update to her Instagram post, saying: 'Witnesses have stated and have photo and video footage of the woman being maced in the eyes while being held by Ball.'   

The photographer blasted the police for not intervening to help Nibo when she was attacked by the MAGA supporters.

'The police line was right behind me in this photo. Not one officer stepped in. It took two bystanders and myself dragging her out and running over to the police line for safety.'   

A video posted online appears to show a woman holding Nibo's wig while boasting: 'I did that. I did the first scalping of the new civil war.'

Nibo did not suffer any major injuries in the attack but sustained a scratch to her face and had been pepper sprayed.  

Several people were arrested during the rally after clashes between Trump supporters, counter-protesters and police. 

Some images posted to social media showed people with blood on their faces but no serious injuries were reported. 

Officials were eventually forced to declare an unlawful assembly after the crowd of about 200 people gathered outside City Hall and the LA Police Department headquarters.

It came as protesters elsewhere across the country took to the streets as President-elect Joe Biden was set to be certified as the winner of the November election.  

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