LA County taxpayers are footing the bill for the defense of UCLA's arrested protesters



The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted last week to provide legal assistance for those who were arrested when law enforcement moved in to get rid of the anti-Israel encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Over 200 people were arrested earlier this month when California Highway Patrolmen in riot gear breached the fortified encampment, which was located outside of Royce Hall. Those who were arrested was due to them not dispersing and often fighting with CHP, despite being given multiple warnings to leave. The west end of the camp was left open for people who were willing to leave.

The ones who stayed and fought with the police did so willingly.

Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin reported all board members except for one voted in favor of the motion. The legal assistance will be provided through the Public Defender's Office.

'But I believe they don’t have the legal authority to micromanage like this.'
— (@)

While public defense was already an option to protesters who were arrested if they wanted a public defender, "In this case, the County is directing the PD office to provide taxpayer resources [and] services for a defense for this specific population they’ve chosen over others, track the cases, then report back on the resolutions in 60 days," Melugin noted.

"But a defendant can only make the choice to opt for representation from the public defender if they show they can’t afford to hire an attorney. The Board of Supervisors appoints the Public Defender, but I believe they don’t have the legal authority to micromanage like this," California-based attorney Laura Powell said in response.

Out of the 200 who were arrested, some were released from jail soon after without being charged with anything, according to the Daily Bruin.

Christopher Bou Saeed, an L.A.-based criminal defense and civil rights attorney, told the Daily Bruin he saw charges that he felt were unjust as a result of previous demonstrations.

"In prior protests, there have been filings that I didn’t think were warranted, and I’ve represented people in the George Floyd protests with charges that I didn’t think were supported by the evidence,” he said.

Beyond trespassing and resisting arrest, 43 had been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary.

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Top adviser to leftist DA George Gascón — his ADA of ethics and integrity operations — hit with 11 felony charges



A top adviser for Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón was slapped Wednesday with 11 felony charges over her alleged "repeated and unauthorized use of data from confidential, statutorily protected peace officer files."

Diana Teran, Gascón's assistant district attorney of ethics and integrity operations as well as his designee on immigration policy issues, has long been suspected of unlawfully downloading confidential L.A. County Sheriff's Department files in 2018 while still an LASD employee.

Teran allegedly yanked data on 11 sheriff's deputies in concert with L.A. County Inspector General Max Huntsman's office, the outfit tasked with oversight of the sheriff's department.

According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Teran "impermissibly used that data" after joining Gascón's team in January 2021.

Former Undersheriff Tim Murakami told KABC-TV in 2019 that Teran, who previously served as a constitutional policing adviser for the LASD, downloaded the confidential records for Huntsman and the Office of the Inspector General just days before former LASD Sheriff Alex Villanueva was sworn into office.

The downloads reportedly first came to light in civil litigation between the county and the LASD over Villanueva's rehiring of Deputy Caren Carl Mandoyan, who had previously been canned for alleged domestic violence and stalking.

According to a declaration by an LASD detective filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, Teran accessed the records through what is known as the Personnel Review Management System on Nov. 28, 2018, downloading "78 documents from 22 unique LASD employee case files."

Among the documents Gascón's future ally allegedly absconded with were "14 documents, totaling approximately 2000 pages, from case files related to Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Additionally, Ms. Teran downloaded documents from the case files of at least eight current and former LASD executives."

Huntsman claimed that his office had the legal right to inspect the files, noting, "We're required to keep them confidential — so we don't put out confidential information — but we're allowed to see the whole picture, so we can get a good view of things, and that includes the sheriff department's personnel records."

Huntsman further suggested that the files mentioned in the detective's declaration were of interest because they had been designated as secret, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Murakami disagreed, stating, "That code doesn't give him [Huntsman] free rein to look at anything."

"The problem with him is that he's actually violating the law. He may think he's doing a good thing, but you can't violate a law in order to enforce a law," added the former undersheriff.

The LASD launched a criminal investigation into Huntsman and Teran, suggesting they were looking at possible "Conspiracy, Theft of Government Property, Unauthorized Computer Access, Theft of Confidential Files, Unlawful dissemination of Confidential Files, Potential Civil Rights Violations, and Burglary."

The AG's office evidently figured there was something to the allegations.

Each of the 11 felony counts Teran now faces is punishable by up to three years in jail and a maximum fine of $10,000.

"No one is above the law," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. "Public officials are called to serve the people and the State of California with integrity and honesty."

Teran's attorney James Spertus echoed the OIG's years-old claims when asked about the charges, telling the Los Angeles Times, "They're charging her for doing something within the scope of her employment, that she has a duty to do."

Spertus suggested that the investigation into Teran was prompted by a complaint by Villanueva, who reportedly referred to Teran's downloads this week as as "massive data breach."

Gascón said in a statement obtained by the Times, "I remain committed to upholding transparency and ensuring police accountability within Los Angeles County."

Teran started off in Gascón's office as a special adviser. She went on to deal with prosecutions of police and attorney misconduct. Just recently, Gascón — whom hundreds of thousands of L.A. County residents have desperately attempted to remove from office in multiple recall efforts — promoted Teran to assistant district attorney.

Nathan Hochman, the candidate looking to beat Gascón on Nov. 5 in the L.A. County District Attorney race, wrote Wednesday night on X, "Did Gascon know about the AG Investigation BEFORE he promoted Diana Teran to Assistant DA in charge of ethics and integrity on Jan 4, 2024?? If so, he should resign immediately for such leadership malpractice. If not, he's so asleep and unaware of what's going on around him that he should resign or that reason as well."

Hochman highlighted Gascón's apparent reliance on Teran, suggesting this development "is yet another sign of Hasco's poor judgment and failed leadership.

As you can see, Diana Teran was one of Gascon\u2019s most trusted leaders. Now she\u2019s facing 11 criminal charges brought by the state AG. This is yet another sign of Gascon\u2019s poor judgment and failed leadership. #GasconMustGo
— (@)

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Petition to recall Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón fails



The petition to recall the controversial district attorney of Los Angeles, George Gascón, has failed.

Gascón, who was elected to office in November 2020, has faced his second recall effort in as many years. However, both attempts have failed to garner the minimum number of valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

According to state law, a recall campaign must gather a total number of signatures which reflects at least 10% of the number of people eligible to vote when the candidate was first elected. In November 2020, there were more than 5.6 million eligible voters in LA County, meaning that the campaign needed to collect 566,857 valid signatures by mid-July.

Though the recall campaign submitted over 715,000 signatures, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean C. Logan has now officially reported that the campaign has failed.

"Based on the examination and verification, which conducted in compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements of the California Government Code, Elections Code, and Code of Regulations, 520,050 signatures were found to be valid and 195,783 were found to be invalid," Logan’s office said in a press release.

Of the invalidated signatures, 88,000 of them were unregistered, more than 43,000 were duplicates, more than 37,000 had an issue with the listed address, nearly 9,500 had a mismatched signature, and more than 7,300 were canceled for reasons unknown, according to Fox News.

Gascón also faced a recall measure last year, which failed largely because of limited funds and disorganization, according to the LA Times.

Though Gascón seems to have survived this latest attempt to oust him before his four-year term has been completed, he remains one of the most controversial district attorneys in the country. He has been viewed as soft on crime, seeking light sentences for violent offenders, some of whom have since offended again.

Chesa Boudin, the former district attorney in San Francisco, faced similar criticism before his ouster in early June.

Gascón is the former district attorney and police chief of San Francisco. His campaign for district attorney of LA was largely funded by billionaire leftwing financier, George Soros.