On the heels of Sunday’s vandalism at Echo Park Lake, Tuesday’s city council meeting erupted into chaos when dozens of people protesting a motion banning homeless encampments near schools stormed the council chambers. Police responded, one individual was arrested and the council recessed until the chamber was cleared.
The protest was in response to a motion prohibiting people from sitting, sleeping, lying on or storing property within 500 feet of public and private schools, not just those designated by the council. The anti-encampment ordinance was ultimately approved on an 11-3 vote, with Councilmembers Mike Bonin, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Nithya Raman opposed. The vote came months after Alberto M. Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, asked for the new restrictions.
According to an L.A. Times article, Council President Nury Martinez said Tuesday’s episode brought City Hall “one step closer to the type of behavior that occurred in Washington, D.C. on January 6.”
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