Disgraced Los Angeles Councilmember Kevin De Leon attracted attention recently with his brief return to City Council last Friday – his first appearance since the release of recordings with racist remarks were made public in mid-October. His return, however, was short lived as shouting from protesters and supporters filled council chambers thereby forcing Council President Paul Krekorian to call for a recess. When the council resumed, De Leon did not return.
If that wasn’t enough, the trauma and drama continued that evening at a holiday gift giveaway event hosted by De Leon, in Lincoln Heights, when a fight between protesters and De Leon occurred. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, activists showed up at the event and walked beside the councilman calling for him to resign. A video posted by RootsAction shows protester Jason Reedy standing in front of De Leon holding his phone in De Leon’s face. When De Leon reaches a door, Reedy is pushed out of the way. That’s when things escalated with Reedy following De Leon into a back room and the two started pushing each other.
However, according to the event’s DJ, Alan Ochoa, the posted video doesn’t give the full story. Ochoa said that about 5 people walked into the holiday event shouting “you’re a racist” at De Leon. When De Leon left the stage and tried to walk away, the group started “getting into his face”.
The LAPD is currently investigating the situation.