The vice mayor of a small city in California who called on the criminal \u201ccholos\u201d of Los Angeles to stand up to raids on undocumented migrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents is facing calls to resign, with the local police union calling her actions \u201cshameful.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a clip posted to Instagram and then swiftly deleted, Cynthia Gonzalez, Vice Mayor of Cudahy, said: \u201cI want to know where all the cholos are at in Los Angeles \u2013 18th Street, Florencia Where\u2019s the leadership at? <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you guys are all about territory and, \u2018This is 18th Street, this is Florencia.\u2019 You guys tag everything up, claiming hood and now that your hood\u2019s being invaded by the biggest gang there is, there ain\u2019t a peep out of you.\u201d Gonzalez appeared to be referring to ICE but does not name them in the video. <\/p>\n
She continued: \u201cIt\u2019s everyone else who\u2019s not about the gang life that\u2019s out there protesting and speaking up. We\u2019re out there fighting our turf, protecting our turf, protecting our people, and, like, where you at?<\/p>\n
The video Gonzalez posted to Instagram that was subsequently denounced by the Department of Homeland Security (X\/Department of Homeland Security)\u201cDude they\u2019re running amok all up on your streets, on your streets and in your city and, peep, when the big gang guns come in nothing but, like, quiet and we\u2019re out here, the regular ones that have never been jumped in out here calling things out and trying to organize.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo don\u2019t be trying to claim no block, no nothing if you\u2019re not showing up right now trying to, like, help out and organize. I don\u2019t want to hear a peep out of you once they\u2019re gone, trying to claim that this is my block. This was not your block. You weren\u2019t even here helping out. So whoever is the leadership over there just f***ing get your members in order.\u201d<\/p>\n
The L.A. Police Protective League (LAPPL) has reacted angrily and demanded Gonzalez\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 18th Street and Florencia street gangs are notoriously dangerous Los Angeles-based criminal enterprises,\u201d it said in a statement. <\/p>\n
\u201cBoth gangs have a known history of murdering police officers. In 1998, an 18th Street gang member murdered LAPD Officer Filberto Cuesta. Recently, several Florencia gang members were convicted of the 2022 murder of LAPD Officer Fernando Arroyos.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Ms Gonzalez urged and taunted these specific gangs to do in her social media post puts police officers and other law enforcement professionals at greater risk. Her actions are deplorable and potentially illegal. She should resign and she should be prosecuted if what she called for broke the law.\u2060\u201d<\/p>\n
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also responded to the video, reposting it on Tuesday evening with a statement calling Gonzalez \u201cdespicable\u201d and alleging that she was calling on the gangs \u201cto commit violence against our brave ICE law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kind of garbage has led to a more than 500 percent increase in assaults against our ICE law enforcement officers. Secretary [Kristi] Noem has been clear: If you assault a federal officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,\u201d the DHS said.<\/p>\n
Cynthia Gonzalez, Vice Mayor of Cudahy, California (City of Cudahy)The FBI has stated that it cannot currently confirm or deny whether an investigation into Gonzalez is underway. Still, spokesperson Laura Eimiller noted: \u201cGenerally speaking, of course, the FBI condemns any calls for violence or targeting of law enforcement with violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Independent has contacted Gonzalez for comment, but she has so far refused all media requests pertaining to the video.<\/p>\n
The City of Cudahy did issue a brief statement of its own in which it said: \u201cThe comments made by the Vice Mayor reflect her personal views and do not represent the views or official position of the City of Cudahy. The City will not be providing further comment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Times has since quoted an attorney representing Gonzalez as saying that \u201cany suggestion that she advocated for violence is categorically false and without merit,\u201d putting them at odds with the LAPPL and DHS in their interpretation of her words.<\/p>\n
The attorney continued: \u201cIn her post, Dr Gonzalez issued a challenge to the Latino community: join the thousands of Angelenos already peacefully organizing in response to ongoing enforcement actions. <\/p>\n
\u201cImportantly, Dr Gonzalez in no way encouraged anyone to engage in violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gonzalez\u2019s controversial video comes after weeks of controversy caused by federal raids on migrants in downtown Los Angeles, which saw local people hit the streets to protest and President Donald Trump call in the National Guard and deploy active-duty Marines to support local law enforcement against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago, Gonzalez joined other L.A. County mayors at a press conference hosted by Bass at City Hall to address ICE\u2019s actions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The vice mayor of a small city in California who called on the criminal \u201ccholos\u201d of Los Angeles to stand up to raids on undocumented migrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents is facing calls to resign, with the local police union calling her actions \u201cshameful.\u201d In a clip posted to Instagram and then […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n