The National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles (\u201cNLG-LA\u201d) denounces the brutal force used by the
\nCalifornia Highway Patrol (\u201cCHP\u201d) to evict homeless families who had taken shelter on
\nThanksgiving eve in homes owned by the State of California that have been sitting vacant for
\ndecades. After the organization known as Reclaim and Rebuild Our Community (\u201cRROC\u201d)
\nsupported 22 families in reclaiming abandoned homes owned by the California Department of
\nTransportation (\u201cCaltrans\u201d), CHP descended with massive force, to remove at gunpoint, the
\nhomeless families who had taken refuge in these abandoned homes.
\nStarting on the evening of Wednesday, November 25, 2020, at about 7:00 pm and continuing
\nthrough midnight, the CHP terrified the El Sereno community by deploying scores of officers,
\nwith over thirty in riot gear, and bearing assault rifles to forcibly remove these homeless
\nfamilies. The officers broke down the front doors of each home and entered with their guns
\ndrawn and pointed at the occupants, who were unarmed. In one instance, the CHP raided a home
\noccupied by a 17-year-old girl and her mother with assault rifles drawn, even after the
\ncommanding officer was warned that there were minors in that home. CHP then proceeded to
\ndrag the minor out of the home. This operation continued throughout Thanksgiving Day until all
\nthe homeless families were forcibly evicted and rendered homeless once again, with their
\npersonal belongings left inside the homes.
\nHousing is a human right and it is unconscionable that families\u2019 needs for shelter during a global
\npandemic was met with violent repression by the CHP. We demand that Xavier Becerra,
\nAttorney General of the State of California, immediately investigate CHP\u2019s egregious conduct.
\nWe also demand that Los Angeles District Attorney, and City Attorney Mike Feuer refrain from
\nprosecuting all arrestees.
\nIn line with declarations made earlier in the year by Governor Gavin Newsom to repurpose
\nunused and empty State, County, and City properties to house thousands of families and
\nindividuals facing housing instability, we call on Governor Newsom, State Senator Maria Elena
\nDurazo, Assembly member Wendy Carrillo, U.S. Congressman Jimmy Gomez, and Los Angeles
\nCity Councilman Kevin de Leon to direct Caltrans to repurpose these vacant unused homes to
\nprovide critical shelter for homeless families and immediately return all personal belongings left
\ninside the homes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles (\u201cNLG-LA\u201d) denounces the brutal force used by the California Highway Patrol (\u201cCHP\u201d) to evict homeless families who had taken shelter on Thanksgiving eve in homes owned by the State of California that have been sitting vacant for decades. After the organization known as Reclaim and Rebuild Our Community […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9980,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t