“Fuck that guy… He’s with the Blacks.”
LA City Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo, Kevin de León and LA Labor Federation President Ron Herrera making racist comments and discuss redistricting.
Listen to the audio:
LAPD purchased a $200,000/year subscription to Cobwebs, an Israeli surveillance software that can track anyone’s phone and uses AI to continuously scrape social media activity and create targeted detailed profiles on individuals. New from
@joeyneverjoe
.
Thousands of Oaxaqueños just marched to LA City Hall with signs like “Fuck your Eurocentric beauty standards” and “Resign Cedillo and de León.” Now they’re dancing to a live jarabe band in front of City Hall
We found out the LA's Sheriff's Department (
@LASDHQ
) was having a party tonight at
@SassafrasHW
in Hollywood. Several men we believe to be deputies identified themselves by name and verbally confirmed they were attending an LASD function.
BREAKING: Masks Off in Hollywood.
As CA becomes the first state to surpass half a million COVID cases,
@LASDHQ
threw a raucous, mask-optional party at Sassafras Saloon last night despite a statewide order to close bars.
Only on
@KNOCKdotLA
:
STARBUCKS STRIKE: Ten stores in LA County and over a hundred worldwide are closed today because unionized workers are on strike. They say the company is refusing to negotiate in good faith. Here at the Little Tokyo location workers will rally at noon
Susan Smith Dorsey High School students speak out on how a Building Blue Bridges field trip to honor Tyre Nichols turned into a "pro-police" event.
They call it "inappropriate and traumatizing.”
Read the rest from
@ErinWisti
here:
CM Martinez on CM Marqueece Harris-Dawson:
"Go get the airport from his fucking little brother, that little bitch Bonin...Bonin thinks he's fucking Black."
CM de León: His kid is.
Martinez, Herrera, de León and Cedillo talking about Councilmember Paul Krekorian's district.
Martinez calls Areen Ibranossian - Krekorian's former chief of staff - "The guy with one eyebrow." She then asks what his last name is.
Cedillo: "I bet it ends in I-A-N."
LA Fed's Herrera to Martinez, Cedillo, and KDL: "My goal in life is to get the three of you elected...we're like a little Latino caucus of our own."
He says he told CM Bob Blumenfield: "The way I see it, all of the seats are Latino."
Martinez: "Fuck that dude."
Councilmember
@gilcedillo
saying he's comfortable with redistricting map K2.5. Martinez says she's surprised Cedillo and Councilmember O'Farrell aren't close anymore after their "COVID bro-mance" and calls O'Farrell a "diva."
Herrera: "He's a teamster, I gotta support him."
LAPD arrested 182 people at Echo Park Lake last night. At least 13 of the arrestees were members of the press, including two of our reporters, Kate Gallagher and Jonathan Peltz. This is their story:
The LAPD is in the midst of an internal investigation after citizens spotted the menacing pirate flag that is historically associated with police violence waving over the department’s 77th Street Community Police Station.
Reporting by
@JonnyPeltz
Yes, the debate was Bad. Very bad! But there’s so much more at stake than just the Presidential election here in LA, and tomorrow we’re dropping our 2020 voter guide to help inform your decisions. Let’s get ready!
UPDATE: with an overwhelming 91% of the vote, the Los Angeles Democratic Party has approved the resolution calling for Sheriff Villanueva’s resignation.
BREAKING: Knock LA has confirmed that the LASD has 2000 custody beds on standby for "non-compliant" unhoused residents of Venice Beach ahead of a planned sweep of the boardwalk.
Read more in
@thecrazypman
's interview with Councilmember Mike Bonin:
Here's the footage of Deputy Douglas Johnson kneeling on the head of Enzo Escalante, leaked to Knock LA.
@AleneTchek
reported on claims that Sheriff Villanueva directed a cover-up of the investigation of this use-of-force & is now the subject of a department investigation.
Proud Boys and other right-wing groups descended on Glendale United School District to target teachers and chase around counterprotesters on Tuesday.
The board simply wanted to recognize June as Pride month.
Story by John Motter and
@jordankurtzman
Coming soon from , a series six months in the making.
A Tradition of Violence: The History of Deputy Gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
A Tradition of Violence: The History of Deputy Gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
@CeriseCastle
’s comprehensive series — half a year in the making — begins today with three installments.
#lasdgangs
A white man who previously mocked people of color killed by police was shot and killed by an alleged member of a Ku Klux Klan-themed deputy gang.
Reporting by
@cerisecastle
:
The Disabled Student Union at UCLA (
@dsuucla
) has repeatedly asked the university for hybrid remote / in-person learning.
They've been repeatedly denied, even though in just the first week of January, UCLA saw over 1,200 confirmed Covid cases.
Officer William Dorsey Jones Jr. opened fire with a military grade rifle in a busy department store in North Hollywood, killing 2 people: 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta and 24-year-old Daniel Elena Lopez.
Reporting by
@cerisecastle
&
@JonnyPeltz
:
LASD searched protesters’ phones and other property after arrests at a Dijon Kizzee demonstration in August 2020. Now, Knock LA, along with the First Amendment Coalition, has won a lawsuit against the LASD.
Read the rest from Joey Scott
@joeyneverjoe
:
LAHSA employees say pressure from Mitch O’Farrell and the Mayor’s office led to the agency prioritizing
#EchoParkLake
residents for room placements ahead of more vulnerable waitlisters, and displaced residents report strings of broken promises.
After a dramatic & contentious debate, the motion that criminalizes homelessness in Los Angeles (despite MRT's protestations to the contrary) moves forward, 13-2.
The two "no" votes from
@nithyavraman
&
@mikebonin
.
BREAKING: Knock LA has confirmed via an LASD source that one arrest at Pride was for a warrant related to an incident at a Drag Story Hour for a stolen cell phone.
Video shows accuser using their cell phone and posting to social media afterwards.
More to come from
@ACatWithNews
Keenan Anderson's family has come up to speak together. Dominique, his younger sister, is speaking. Says that who you are doesn't matter in the eyes of the police. Says they took 3 days to inform the family. Says Moore tried to blame the death on an overdose.
Recently, the LA times published two articles about how Kevin De León (CD14) and Nury Martinez (formerly CD 6) are coping in the aftermath of the fed tape leaks. Profiling these figures was controversial. We want to remind you of what happened this time last year. 🧵(1/9)
HAPPENING NOW: Amazon workers & local unions picket the company’s San Bernardino warehouse, the largest Amazon hub in the region. Today workers begin striking to demand $5/hr raises, safer conditions. Organizers tell me they expect a third of shift workers to walk out around noon
Today on KNOCK:
Nithya Raman is Already the Strongest Policymaker in Los Angeles
The impact she could make as a city councilmember would drastically alter Los Angeles for the better.
The Fight for Echo Park Lake: Fences and Neighbors
Approximately 400 police officers descended on Echo Park Lake's unhoused community last night.
By
@jamieloftusHELP
Dancers walked off the job at Star Gardens topless bar in North Hollywood in protest of unfair labor practices. They’ve filed several complaints against management with the National Labor Relations Board.
A resident of Boyle Heights is asking in Spanish that Kevin de León step down: "I'm here now saying 'Please, have dignity, leave, and leave that seat for another person who will really take care of the community.'"
“We bring so much to Los Angeles. We bring happiness, we bring culture, we work hard,” said Blanca Mateo, originally of San Sebastián Abasolo in Oaxaca. “The ones who made those remarks, they should go. They don’t deserve us!”
Are you a journalist in Los Angeles? We want you to write for us, and we’ve increased our baseline rate of $125 to $200 for longform reporting, deep dives, and investigative essays (>1200 words).
A single deputy now costs West Hollywood taxpayers $358,000 annually. Last year, those deputies solved 2 smartphone thefts out of 249 reported.
Reporting by
@nikasoonshiong
"..recently released videos reveal an alliance between Friends of Echo Park, CD13 Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell, and the LAPD. The plan is to turn Echo Park Lake into an enforcement zone by this spring - and to do so without significant press attention."
Imagine taking an Uber or Lyft that cost $1 and was run by your local transit agency, not a Silicon Valley tech company. That's essentially the Metro Micro, one of LA's best-kept secrets.
Analysis by
@JBRylah
HAPPENING NOW: Thousands of UCLA academic workers rally after their first day on strike! They join tens of thousands of UC workers statewide demanding higher wages, more job security, support for international students, and more.
Full demands at
Congratulations to
@cerisecastle
on winning a Courage in Journalism Award for her Knock LA articles on "A Tradition of Violence" in the LA Sheriff's Dept.!
Freelancer
@cerisecastle
wrote the first history exposing deputy gangs inside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, resulting in harassment and retaliation from LASD and threats to her safety.
The first speaker on public comment is Controller Kenneth Mejia (!), who speaks in support of item 12. "The controller's office is creating a data compass that will give the government, stakeholders, & public access to up-to-date information on the City's work re: homelessness."
@hasrra18
yesterday Nury Martinez stepped down as council president but not as council member. an hour before today's meeting was to begin she said this has all been very hard for her so she's taking a leave of absence -- ie staying home, getting paid, not facing her constituents' anger
Here, Herrera speaks about his dislike of KIWA (Korean Immigrant Workers Alliance) and particularly "a woman from KIWA." "You're a fucking 501(c)...I shut her up though...I had to put her down."
Cedillo: "To me, everything at SEIU to me is 100% suspect. I know this stuff."
We move now to public comment. First up, City Attorney calls up a Bong Joon-Ho, who begins: "as my name suggested, I'm here to talk about the parasite, Kevin de León."
BREAKING: Resolutions Committee of the LA Democratic Party unanimously approves motion calling for the resignation of Sheriff Villanueva.
Read more from
@cerisecastle
“We need to just buy em up. And we need to take over some of them.” - Cho speaking about buying endorsements from LA's democratic clubs. She is currently the co-chair of her district at the LA County Democratic Party.
For the first time, the CA reparations task force will meet in person here in LA. We are seeking a Black, local journalist to cover the meetings on Sep. 23 & 24 - $75/hr. All meetings are also open to the public! Please Contact editors
@knock
.la
@hasrra18
Kuehl says the sheriffs department is full of proud boys and three percenters, and several of them were at the January 6 attempted insurrection
UPDATE: We have uploaded the full audio of the three additional tapes leaked of Ron Herrera meetings at the LA County Federation of Labor to this article. We are working on transcribing them as well.
@hasrra18
Bonin says on the tapes I also heard racist attacks on Oaxacans, homophobic tropes, antisemitism, and coordinated efforts to disenfranchise Black people and renters and weaken the voice of progressives and undermine anyone who tries to do coalition-building
@hasrra18
Jason says Buscaino I know you were talking about my child, I could talk about your kids but I wouldn't stoop that low --- but does your wife know about your romantic affair with your district director?
How does Jeffrey Katzenberg get one-on-one meetings with half of City Council, while regular citizens can’t even stand inside City Hall without being escorted out by police?
(The answer, of course, is $$$.)
Read more from
@JonnyPeltz
:
"The city controller is a position that’s very powerful. It’s on the same level as the mayor and the city attorney. It’s been around for over 100 years... but the truth is, over 90% of people we talk to have no clue what the city controller position is."
The ongoing demolition & privatization of LA's public housing has only been documented in bits and pieces. This 10-part series, reported by
@jacobwooch
, marks the first effort to provide a full account of the history.
Read part one here:
LAPD shot a photojournalist with rubber bullets tonight, despite his not participating in protest or civil disobedience and carrying a massive and obvious DSLR and camera bag.
Real journalism has a lot to do with what side of the skirmish line you’re on.
BREAKING: Masks Off in Hollywood.
As CA becomes the first state to surpass half a million COVID cases,
@LASDHQ
threw a raucous, mask-optional party at Sassafras Saloon last night despite a statewide order to close bars.
Only on
@KNOCKdotLA
:
Tomorrow afternoon, LA City Council’s Public Safety committee will decide whether to allow the LAPD to have a robot dog. One committee member calls the robots “dystopian.”
LAUSD contractor Daphne Bradford issued a press release calling for the resignations of Knock LA reporters
@JonnyPeltz
,
@ErinWisti
, and the head of Students Deserve. We stand by our reporting, and also condemn the effort to silence both students and journalists (1/5):
Wow: CM Hugo Soto-Martinez, fiery, and holding his own RSO lease agreement: "What we're really talking about his who does this city represent? [..] And by creating a two-tier system, we are giving our power to those corporate landlords who have profited off working people."
Good afternoon y'all! We're about to get rolling with the Los Angeles City Council Budget & Finance Committee hearing.
As promised,
@christopherroth
is here to live-tweet the whole thing!
You can get the agenda and tune in to the live stream here:
CM Cedillo: "Yeah that's called K-town."
CM Martinez: "I see a lot of little short dark people."
CM Cedillo: "Oaxacan Koreans. Not even like Kevin [de León], little ones.
CM Martinez: [laughter] I don't know what village they came from.
We’re progressive Angelenos, of course we wrote an extensive voter guide with breakdowns of city, county, state, and federal races, plus ballot initiatives!
Your guide to progressive voting in this 2024 election is here:
Looks like
@KnockDotLA
has updated their voter guide. I want to thank KNOCK for this correction.
I am running this campaign because LAPD killed my best friend & my sister, Mely. I am fueled by righteous passion to pursue justice in Mely's name - ABOLISH LAPD. This is not a joke.
@hasrra18
Bonin says as a white father of Black child you stumble, fuck up, try to do your best. I know I can't know or comprehend or feel the weight of daily relentless anti-Black racism my son will face but I know the fire you feel when someone tries to destroy Black boy joy. it's a rage
Imagine taking an Uber or Lyft that cost $1 and was run by your local transit agency, not a Silicon Valley tech company. That's essentially the Metro Micro, one of LA's best-kept secrets.
Hi, good morning! this is
@hasrra18
getting ready to live tweet today’s 10 am LA City Council meeting. But will it happen?? There are protesters outside City Hall, outside O’Farrell’s house & camping outside Kevin de León’s house demanding resignations before meetings take place
Sheriff Villanueva has repeatedly denied requests for comment on this story. The photographic evidence linking him to far right actors is overpowering.
Read the reporting by
@ACatWithNews