Hours after drawing protesters’ ire along with his first in-person look in two months at a Los Angeles Metropolis Council assembly, Kevin de León was concerned in a struggle with an activist Friday evening, in an altercation at the very least partially caught on video.
The council member stated in an announcement that he was assaulted. Activists stated De León was the aggressor.
De León was at Lincoln Park for a toy giveaway and vacation tree lighting when the incident occurred, his workplace advised The Occasions.
A video posted to Twitter by two native activist organizations — RootsAction and J-TOWN Motion and Solidarity — exhibits a quick portion of an altercation between De León and a person recognized within the description as Jason Reedy, an organizer with the Folks’s Metropolis Council.
The video, which is in sluggish movement, exhibits the council member with different individuals behind him in a hallway. De León pushes Reedy onto a desk earlier than grabbing Reedy once more and forcing him down what gave the impression to be a hallway or doorway.
The ten-second video clip doesn’t depict some other portion of Friday evening’s incident.
In an announcement, De León stated that he, a workers member and a volunteer have been “violently and bodily assaulted by self-proclaimed activists at a group vacation occasion to the dismay of a mess of households and kids who have been there to rejoice a Christmas tree lighting and to obtain toys and meals.”
“The escalating rhetoric is hitting a fever pitch, transcending from verbal threats into precise acts of violence and should finish earlier than extra critical hurt or lack of life happens,” the assertion stated. “Violence will not be free speech and has no place in politics or democracy.”
Jason Reedy speaks throughout Friday’s Metropolis Council assembly.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Occasions)
In an announcement to The Occasions on Friday evening, Shakeer Rahman, an lawyer representing Reedy, referred to as De León “a shame.”
“Video footage clearly exhibits him and his supporters initiating this assault whereas Mr. Reedy stands susceptible,” Rahman stated. “Not solely has Kevin de León misplaced all political legitimacy, his claims that he was the one attacked right here merely underscores how he’s misplaced contact with actuality.”
De León’s workplace stated Reedy and different activists current have been at fault.
Pete Brown, a spokesperson for De León, stated the council member was head-butted, a member of his workers was elbowed within the face and a volunteer was punched within the arm.
No head-butts have been captured on the video, which Brown stated begins after it occurred.
Previous to the beginning of the video, De León was on a stage on the venue when protesters got here in, the spokesperson stated. He tried to maneuver away however was pursued by the activists, who blocked off exits, in accordance with Brown.
Authorities have confirmed little concerning the incident and didn’t establish anybody concerned.
Officers have been referred to as at 6:30 p.m. to the 3500 block of Valley Boulevard for a report of a giant struggle involving eight attainable suspects, stated Officer Drake Madison, a Los Angeles Police Division spokesperson.
The suspects had fled by the point officers arrived, Madison stated. Officers took the report of 1 sufferer.
Firefighters have been referred to as to the situation to evaluate an grownup male, however the man was not taken to a hospital, stated Nicholas Prange, a Los Angeles Fireplace Division spokesperson.
Occasions workers author David Zahniser contributed to this report.
