Activists Derail LA City Council Meeting Over Homeless Encampments

Laurel DugganAugust 9, 2022

Activists derailed a Los Angeles City Council meeting Tuesday to protest an effort to ban homeless encampments from school properties and the immediate surrounding areas, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Chaos broke out after a protester charged at a city council member; the police apprehended that person and tackled another activist, and at least one person was arrested, according to the LA Times. Activists screamed at the council members and the police before the police declared the meeting an unlawful assembly.

Dispersal order was given and everyone has cleared the City Council chambers. If you want to support our fight for housing and against criminalization, contact LA City Council. Use this toolkit https://t.co/5OX0o1hIbO pic.twitter.com/i0S4gja0fH

— Services Not Sweeps (@NoSweepsLA) August 9, 2022

The scene unfolded during the public comment period for the city council’s effort to ban people from sleeping, lying on or storing property within 500 feet of all public and private schools and day care centers, according to the LA Times. Los Angeles already bans this for some schools, and the city council voted in favor last week but had to move to a second vote because it was not unanimous.

Protesters portrayed the move as hostile to homeless people and urged the city council to repeal the existing city law banning sleeping and storing property around certain schools. (RELATED: Rep. Maxine Waters Tells Homeless People To ‘Go Home’)

Various photos and videos shared online show the room packed with protesters, some of them holding signs and chanting “house keys not handcuffs” while at least eight police officers, some of whom had partial face shields, gathered in front of the council members.

Council President Nury Martinez said the events brought the city “one step closer” to the Capitol riots of Jan. 6, 2021, according to the LA Times. (RELATED: Video Shows Latest Attack In Surge Of Violence Against LA Homeless)

“We cannot legislate in fear,” she told the outlet. “I certainly won’t.”

The police declared the meeting an unlawful assembly, and the city council reconvened later in the morning and passed the measure.

Services Not Sweeps and the Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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