Protesters removed from incoming L.A. Councilwoman Traci Park’s swearing in ceremony

Several protesters were removed Saturday afternoon from the swearing-in ceremony of incoming Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park.

Park, who will represent Venice and other Westside neighborhoods, was giving a speech at her event at Loyola Marymount University when at least five protesters separately stood up and interrupted Park’s speech, according to videos posted by reporter Jon Peltz on Twitter. The protesters were escorted out of the event by police, and some were jostled by Park’s supporters.

As the protesters emerged, Park’s supporters began chanting her name to drown them out, said former L.A. Councilwoman Jan Perry, who attended the event. Perry said it was unclear what the protests were about because the chanting was so loud.

“Every time there was an interruption, the crowded shouted the protester down,” Perry said. “They got escorted out, and [Park] resumed her speech.”

Perry said Park made reference to the protesting during her comments, saying that she represented everyone, including those who disagreed with her.

Saturday’s protests continued a hot two days in L.A. politics. On Friday, City Councilman Kevin de León briefly appeared at a council meeting for the first time since mid-October, when fallout from a leaked racist audio tape roiled the city. De León was one of four people in the conversation that sparked widespread condemnation and calls to resign from office from President Biden, among others.

De León’s appearance triggered an uproar in council chambers, and Council President Paul Krekorian asked him to leave because three of De León’s colleagues would otherwise have left the dais and broken quorum, preventing the meeting from going forward.

At a holiday event later that evening in Lincoln Heights, De León was confronted by a group of protesters, who later posted a video on social media showing the councilman shoving one of the demonstrators into a table and pushing him into a hallway. The protesters had shown up at the event to call for his resignation and were following him around the auditorium.

Park, a municipal law attorney who ran on a platform of expanding the Los Angeles Police Department and aggressively enforcing anti-camping restrictions against homeless encampments, defeated Erin Darling for the Westside council seat last month to replace Councilmember Mike Bonin.

Perry said that she was not surprised that there were protests at the ceremony, saying city politics has been trending this way in recent years.

“It didn’t cross a line because [Park] handled it very well,” Perry said. “The audience responded affirmatively supporting her in a very loud way. I thought that was very positive.”