Los Angeles: protesters camp in front of Kevin de Leon's house "until he resigns"

The pressure on Angeleno Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo continues to mount, and on all fronts. In addition to the demonstrations that follow both of them in each of their acts, now there is a protester camp set-up in front of De León's house, both which coincide with the commencement of the proceedings to remove him from office by five voters and the censorship of the City Council.

A group of activists linked to Black Lives Matters have camped out in front of De León's Eagle Rock residence from where they say they will not move "until he resigns." The LAPD has already delimited the space and the distance in which they can be located and several tents have been erected.

Tents in front of the house

The settlement has become a hive of activity with well-known representatives of the black community, such as Tariq Nasheed of Foundational Black Americans, and other protesters demanding his resignation.

Collection of signatures against De León

Five constituents have not limited themselves to chanting slogans, and have gone a step further by initiating the process to try to get De León removed from office. According to local regulations, the process begins with a 300-word statement signed by five voters in the district. In the filed document, it is highlighted that he is "currently unable to represent the stakeholders of Council District 14" due to the leaked racist conversation and repeated demands from citizens for him to resign.

Voters must now submit 21,006 accredited signatures of residents of District 14 (15% of the registered voters in that district). According to experts and as quoted by the Los Angeles Times, to ensure that the procedure gets through this phase, it would be advisable to collect about 25,000 signatures, since about 20% of the signatures submitted are usually rejected.

Censorship of the City Council

As if that were not enough, on Thursday, November 27, the full City Council censured Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo and once again demanded that they leave their posts. Also included in the motion was Nury Martinez, who resigned from her position as president following the leak, and subsequently also stepped down as a councilwoman.