Street Preacher's Throat Fractured in Sucker Punch Outside WeHo Nightclub

A street preacher from Arizona says he was sucker-punched in the throat outside a West Hollywood nightclub, leaving him with a fractured cartilage, a lost voice, and doctors' orders to stay off the microphone for weeks. David Ramirez, a self-described street preacher with the Arizona-based evangelism ministry His Kingdom Enterprises, was struck around 2 a.m. on August 15 near the Rainbow Crosswalk at Santa Monica and San Vicente boulevards, just outside Sweetwater WeHo.

According to WEHOonline, a ministry video shows Ramirez speaking into a microphone as people gathered around him, telling the crowd, “I want you to enter the kingdom of God.” Moments later, the outlet reports, an unidentified attacker threw three punches at Ramirez's face and throat before walking away. The attack has no established motive, and the video reportedly does not capture everything that happened beforehand.

Ramirez suffered a fracture in his thyroid cartilage, an injury that caused swelling of his vocal cords and surrounding tissue, per the same report. Paramedics advised him to seek treatment, and ministry director David Hoffman said Ramirez was taken to a hospital, where he was treated with steroids. He lost his voice and has been advised not to preach for four to six weeks, with the outlet noting he could require surgery if the injury does not heal properly.

Ministry Denies Provoking the Crowd

His Kingdom Enterprises had initially used amplified speakers near the intersection while preaching about Jesus, sin and repentance, the report states. A sergeant on duty at the scene accused the group of coming to West Hollywood to antagonize people and provoke negative reactions — an accusation Hoffman denied, telling the outlet, “We were not preaching in a provocative way,” and that the group was not focused on the topic of homosexuality or calling out any particular group.

The sergeant warned that anyone using the microphone could be arrested and that the group's speakers could be confiscated, according to WEHOonline. His Kingdom Enterprises showed deputies the attack video and called them after Ramirez was assaulted, and the ministry has since changed its approach to avoid citations, arrests or equipment confiscation. The West Hollywood Sheriff's Station, which sits directly across from Sweetwater WeHo according to Hoodline's earlier coverage of the lesbian-owned nightclub's opening, did not respond to WEHOonline's request for comment; His Kingdom Enterprises likewise did not respond to a request for additional information.

Hoffman described the assault as an example of Christian persecution, though Ramirez himself has struck a different tone, saying he forgives the person who attacked him. Christian outlets covering the incident, including My Christian Daily, reported that Hoffman admitted the ministry had not realized before arriving that West Hollywood was a major LGBTQ+ hub, while maintaining the outreach was non-confrontational.

A Neighborhood Already on Edge

The attack lands just months after another high-profile street confrontation on the same boulevard. In April, conservative influencer Ryley Niemi sparked a physical altercation after posing as a CNN reporter to confront a gay couple walking with their newborn, asking inflammatory questions about gay parents and child molestation, according to Out Magazine. West Hollywood resident David Miller-Robinson was arrested on suspicion of battery and felony vandalism after the confrontation turned physical, and community members raised more than $137,000 online for his legal defense, per Primetimer.

WEHOonline reports that Niemi lied to residents Anthony Vulin and Miller-Robinson about being from CNN, and that Niemi deliberately visits places like West Hollywood because residents disagree with him, saying the resulting exchanges can influence viewers online. Niemi is not connected to the evangelists involved in the Ramirez attack. Just five days after Ramirez was punched, Niemi returned to the Rainbow District with associates carrying signs about abortion and trans issues, a visit also documented by WeHo Times.

What the Law Actually Covers

California Penal Code 415 prohibits fighting or challenging someone to fight in public, maliciously and willfully disturbing another person with loud and unreasonable noise, and using words inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction, per WEHOonline's reporting. The First Amendment protects preaching, protesting and carrying offensive signs on a public sidewalk, but it does not protect assault, threats, stalking or conduct otherwise prohibited under Penal Code 415. West Hollywood residents retain the right to report conduct they believe is threatening or harassing.

The Ramirez assault also fits a broader pattern of late-night violence along the Santa Monica Boulevard nightlife corridor this year. Hoodline previously reported on a man knocked unconscious near Trunks bar in May, and covered a January assault outside Barney's Beanery that left a victim severely hospitalized. Neighborhood business operators have raised ongoing safety concerns amid the string of incidents.

People facing immediate danger should call 911. Those with information about the attack on Ramirez can contact the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station at (310) 855-8850.