Leftist Activists Storm Meeting to Prevent Homeless “Tent Cities” from Being Built Near Schools

Left-wing activists stormed Los Angeles City Hall on Tuesday, unsuccessfully trying to prevent lawmakers from expanding an ordinance banning homeless encampments near schools.

“We’ve taken over City Hall and are now rolling out the ‘People’s Public Comment.’ F&@k their bogus rules; this is what democracy looks like,” tweeted the Los Angeles Community Action Network, a group that bills itself as “human rights defenders and truth tellers.”

LA HOMELESS CAMP CLEANUP NETS TONS OF TRASH AND BIOLOGICAL WASTE

The mask-wearing activists chanted, stomped, and cheered while waving posters asking for municipal code 41.18 to be abolished. This makes it illegal for a person to sit, lie, or sleep near a narrow group of schools and day care facilities. At one point, they chanted, “No justice, no peace, no more racist police.”

After taking an hour of public comment with half a dozen police officers standing guard, the City Council eventually voted 11 to 3 to expand the existing ordinance citywide. In addition, homeless people will be prohibited from loitering within 2 feet of a fire hydrant, 5 feet of any entrance or exit, and 10 feet of docks, driveways, or bike paths.

Los Angeles County has about 80,000 homeless people, according to Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who has fronted efforts to clean up homeless dens on the Venice boardwalk and in front of a veterans affairs facility near the celebrity haven Brentwood. The last count in 2020 was 66,436, among the highest in the country.

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Last year, city officials closed iconic Echo Park Lake, which had become a minicity of homeless people, polluting the waters and frightening adjacent residents. More than 723 pounds of hazardous waste was pulled from the area.

Echo Park Lake’s closure wasn’t without controversy as LA CAN and other groups clashed with police to prevent the closure on grounds that homelessness is a right. The activists aimed to prevent authorities from taking homeless people into shelters or rehousing them.