Protesters storm Los Angeles council meeting after racist recording leaks

Los Angeles residents flooded into their City Council meeting on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of three lawmakers — one of whom was caught on tape making racist comments to the other two.

Nury Martinez resigned from her role as Council president on Monday, one day after the recording leaked. But she refused to give up her Council seat, even as she pulled a no-show at Tuesday’s contentious meeting.

The other two Council members, Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo, have also so far refused to step down. They left Tuesday’s meeting early.

In the recording, Martinez said of another council member’s Black son, “Parece changuito,” Spanish for “He looks like a monkey.” De Leon and Cedillo responded with laughs and jokes in the closed-doors redistricting meeting on October 2021.

Martinez also ripped Los Angeles County’s district attorney, saying, “F–k that guy … He’s with the Blacks.”

Numerous elected officials, from fellow city council members to President Biden, have called on Martinez, de Leon and Cedillo to resign. Those leaders were joined by a resounding chorus of Los Angeles residents who charged into Tuesday’s Council meeting.

They shouted for the three Council members to “resign now” and “get out!” One person held a sign reading, “Take out the trash.”

Bonin, who is white, adopted a young Black son with his husband, Sean Arian. He tearfully addressed Tuesday’s meeting.

“I take a lot of hits, and I know I practically invite a bunch of them. But my son? It makes my soul bleed,” Bonin said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Asking for forgiveness is a good first step. Well, it’s a second step because first you must resign and then ask for forgiveness.”

With News Wire Services