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Protesters kept from entering LA council meeting due to capacity claims
LA County Nov 29, 2022
Los Angeles City Hall on a clear hot summer's day in Los Angeles, California, USA
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Around a dozen protesters were kept from entering the Los Angeles City Council meeting Tuesday due to what police claimed was the chamber reaching capacity.
The protesters, who have repeatedly shown up to meetings since the City Hall racism scandal broke to demand that Councilmen Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo resign, were instead roped off outside the chamber. They had previously disrupted and delayed the start of council meetings by yelling and chanting as the council attempted to begin its meetings.
On Tuesday, they were relegated to shouting “Let us in” and using noisemakers as the council began its meeting without interruption. The protesters were audible from inside the chamber, but they were ushered away by police soon after the meeting began.
The chamber was instead filled with workers from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in support of a contract agreement on the agenda. One person spoke about the item during public comment.
Last month, LADWP workers also packed the chamber before a council meeting for items related to contracts, which led to police claiming that the chamber had reached capacity.
Hugh Esten, a spokesman for Council President Paul Krekorian, told City News Service last month that the capacity of the chamber was reduced from 234 to around 100 people when the council reopened to the public in April. Esten cited recommendations by the county’s health department under COVID-19 guidelines.
