Protesters were removed from the swearing-in ceremony of incoming LA Councilwoman Traci Park

Several protesters were removed from the inauguration ceremony of new Los Angeles councilwoman Traci Park on Saturday afternoon.

Park, who will represent Venice and other Westside neighborhoods, was speaking at her event at Loyola Marymount University when at least five protesters stood up one by one and interrupted Park’s speech, Park said Videos reporter Jon Peltz posted to Twitter. The protesters were escorted out of the event by police and some were jostled by Park supporters.

As the protesters emerged, Park’s supporters began chanting her name to drown them out, said former LA City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who attended the event. Perry said it was unclear what the protests were about because the chanting was so loud.

“Every time there was a break, the crowd would shout down the protester,” Perry said. “They were escorted out, and [Park] resumed her speech.”

Perry said Park referenced the protests in her comments and said she represented everyone, including those who disagreed with her.

Saturday’s protests continued two hot days in LA politics. On Friday, Councilman Kevin de León made a brief appearance at a council meeting for the first time since mid-October as the aftermath of a leaked racist tape rocked the city. De León was one of four people in the call, which sparked widespread condemnation and calls for his resignation from President Biden, among others.

De León’s appearance caused an uproar in the council chambers, and Council President Paul Krekorian asked him to leave, otherwise three of De León’s colleagues would have left the podium and the broken quorum would have prevented the session from proceeding.

At a holiday event later that evening in Lincoln Heights, De León was confronted with a group of protesters, who later posted video to social media showing the city council shoving one of the protesters onto a table and shoving him down a hallway. The protesters had appeared at the event to demand his resignation and followed him through the auditorium.

Park, a city rights attorney who has been running on a platform to expand the Los Angeles Police Department and aggressively enforce anti-camping restrictions on homeless camps, defeated Erin Darling for the Westside council seat last month, defeating councilman Mike Bonin substitute.

Perry said she wasn’t surprised there were protests at the ceremony and said city politics have bucked that trend in recent years.

“It didn’t cross a line because [Park] handled it very well,” said Perry. “The audience reacted positively and supported them in a very loud way. I found that very positive.”