Hours after his first in-person appearance in two months at a Los Angeles City Council meeting, which was met with protests, Kevin de León was involved in a fight with an activist Friday night that was at least partially caught on video.
De León was at Lincoln Park for a toy giveaway and holiday tree lighting when the incident occurred, his office told The Times.shows activists walking alongside De León inside the event calling on him to resign while Jason Reedy, an organizer with the People’s City Council, stands in front of the councilman holding his phone in his face. When De León reaches a door, someone pushes Reedy out of the way.
“Video footage clearly shows him and his supporters initiating this assault while Mr. Reedy stands prone,” Rahman said. “Not only has Kevin de León lost all political legitimacy, his claims that he was the one attacked here simply underscores how he’s lost touch with reality.” In a brief interview with The Times on Saturday, De León stressed again that he was simply defending himself. He also reiterated that he has no plans to resign, as some community members have been urging since the release of a racist audio recording involving him and others.
“At this point, it’s a consistent pattern. I can’t work like this and that’s the bottom line,” Barraza said. “None of us can. It’s impossible for us to deliver the services for our constituents that we need to be delivering and do the work that we need to be doing on a day-to-day basis, when this is what keeps happening.”
He did not wish to provide his full name for fear of retaliation and identified himself only as Giovanni. As the activists confronted De León again Friday night about why he hasn’t resigned, the councilman’s staff members and supporters began jostling with them, according to Zen Sekizawa and Sheryl Quock, members of the J-TOWN Action and Solidarity group who were there with Reedy.
She said that the group decided to show up at the holiday event because normal channels of public comment and protest by wide segments of the population haven’t led to De León’s resignation. Alan Ochoa, 36, was deejaying the event when he said a group of around five people walked in and started shouting, “You’re a racist,” at De León.
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