LAPD Serves Warrants In City Hall Racism Leak Investigation

LOS ANGELES, CA — The leaked audio recording of Los Angeles City Councilmembers speaking in racist terms behind closed doors sent another round of shockwaves through City Hall Tuesday after the Los Angeles Police Department served search warrants as part of an investigation into whether the conversation was illegally recorded.

The move signals a shift from political fallout to criminal.

The warrants targeted a series of social media accounts linked to the October leak of the recording, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. In California, it is illegal to record private conversations without the consent of the people involved. The recording was made a year ago in the offices of the L.A. County Federation of Labor, a major seat of power in LA politics.

It included former Council President Nury Martinez, former President of the L.A. County Federation of Labor Ron Herrera and Council members Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo. The group appeared not to know they were being recorded as they spoke in racist, homophobic and sexist terms while strategizing City Council redistricting.

It remains unknown who recorded the year-old conversation as well as who it was that leaked it on Reddit months after the fact as the City Council election neared. According to the Times, Federation leaders sought to block the paper from publishing details of the recording, but the Times refused to halt publication.

The Times, citing sources who spoke anonymously because of the ongoing investigation, reported that the warrants were for several social media accounts, including the Reddit account.

It's unlikely that the publication of the recording would lead to charges, but whoever illegally recorded the politicians could face charges.

More warrants are expected to be served during the investigation, the sources told The Times. The warrants — seeking communications over the last few weeks — were served by the LAPD's Major Crimes Division, which opened the investigation last month.

Police Chief Michel Moore said last month that the Major Crimes Division launched the investigation at the request of "individuals that were present at that meeting." However, a spokesperson for de León said he did not request the investigation.

The recording led Martinez to step down as City Council president and then quit the council altogether and de León and Cedillo to face relentless calls for them to resign as well.

Among other comments in the recorded conversation, Martinez belittled Councilman Mike Bonin, who is white and has a Black son, and criticized the child for his behavior at a Martin Luther King Day parade -- saying Bonin's son was misbehaving on a float, which might have tipped over if she and the other women on the float didn't step in to "parent this kid."

"They're raising him like a little white kid," Martinez said. "I was like, `This kid needs a beatdown. Let me take him around the corner and then I'll bring him back."'

Martinez also called the child "ese changuito," Spanish for "that little monkey."

De León also criticized Bonin, saying "Mike Bonin won't f---ing ever say peep about Latinos. He'll never say a f---ing word about us."

De León also compared Bonin's handling of his son at the MLK Parade to "when Nury brings her little yard bag or the Louis Vuitton bag."

"Su negrito, like on the side," Martinez added, using a Spanish term for a Black person that's considered demeaning by many.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.