Los Angeles council member involved in fight with activist

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles City Council member was embroiled in a scandal over racist remarks and an activist campaigned at a holiday event Friday night.

The activist and Kevin de León got into an argument over a toy gift and a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Lincoln Park, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Earlier Friday, de León attended his first city council meeting in almost two months, after a scandal erupted after a recording surfaced in October of former council president Nury Martinez, outgoing city councilman Gil Cedillo, de León and a union leader who attended a closed-door meeting that used racist language to taunt colleagues while participants plotted to protect Latino political strength in council districts.

Martinez has resigned. Cedillo lost an election in June and his last day in office is Monday. De León has apologized and said he has no plans to resign.

De León said in a statement to the newspaper that he was attacked on Friday night, while activists said the councilor was the attacker.

The Times reported that two local activist organizations, RootsAction and J-TOWN Action and Solidarity, posted a video on Twitter showing part of the incident between De León and a man identified as Jason Reedy, a People’s City Council organizer. has been identified.

De León’s office said Reedy and other activists were to blame. De León spokesman Pete Brown said the councilor was headbutted by Reedy, a staffer was elbowed in the face and a volunteer was punched in the arm, the Times reported.

De León’s statement to the Times said they were “violently and physically assaulted by self-proclaimed activists at a community holiday event, to the dismay of scores of families and children who were there to celebrate a Christmas tree lighting and receive toys and food.” . ”

“The escalating rhetoric is reaching a climax, moving from verbal threats to actual acts of violence, and must end before more serious damage or death occurs,” the statement said. “Violence is not freedom of expression and has no place in politics or democracy.”

Shakeer Rahman, an attorney representing Reedy, called de León “a disgrace” in a statement to the Times Friday night.

“Video footage clearly shows him and his supporters launching this attack while Mr. Reedy is prone,” Rahman said. “Not only has Kevin de León lost all political legitimacy, his claim that he was the one who was attacked here simply underscores how he has lost touch with reality.”