L.A. mayor’s residence vandalized following protest
Los Angeles police responded to a report of vandalism Thursday night following a protest outside Getty House, the official residence of the mayor.
Videos posted on social media show garbage thrown on the property, toilet paper strung on the trees and fence and graffiti scrawled on the sidewalk. “Housing is a right” and “Repeal 41.18d” — a reference to a city law governing the public right of way — were written on pillars outside the home, video shows.
The videos also show protesters jeering police.
Earlier Thursday, a flier urged protesters to gather at the mayor’s home to protest changes to Municipal Code section 41.18 following a vote by the City Council this week to outlaw camping around parks, libraries and other facilities.
It was unclear who organized Thursday night’s protest. Critics contend that the new rules punish people who live on the streets.
LAPD public information officer Jeff Lee told The Times that officers took a vandalism report around 11:45 p.m. in the 600 block of South Irving Boulevard. No other information was available, he said. Alex Comisar, a spokesman for Mayor Eric Garcetti, referred questions to the LAPD.
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti is Biden’s choice for ambassador to India. Garcetti would leave behind a city confronting a homelessness crisis and a surge in homicides and gun violence.
The graffiti had been removed or painted over by midday Friday. The toilet paper was gone, aside from a small piece hanging from a tree in front of the house.
Activists upset about City Hall’s policies toward homeless individuals, renters and others have regularly targeted politicians at their homes over the last year.
Members of Black Lives Matter-L.A. and other groups held daily protests last year outside Getty House to protest Garcetti’s possible appointment to President Biden’s administration. Other protests targeted Getty House throughout the year.
Garcetti’s wife, Amy Elaine Wakeland, has acknowledged protesters’ right to gather outside Getty House. She has also logged for her security detail instances when the noise has become disruptive.
Wakeland and her daughter, Maya, have stayed someplace other than Getty House on multiple occasions for safety reasons or so Maya could focus on online classes, Comisar said.
Thursday’s incident was the latest case of vandalism at a local politician’s home. The Sun Valley home of City Council President Nury Martinez was targeted in June. Security video and news reports show that a white liquid was poured over Martinez’s car, while the phrase “end the sweeps” was written on her driveway, a reference to city sweeps of homeless encampments that require people to remove their tents.
Martinez spokeswoman Sophie Gilchrist said Friday that investigators are still looking into the incident.
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