Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

Long Beach patrol officer Jeffrey A. Meyer killed teenager Hector Morejon on April 23, 2015. Officer Meyer was responding to a trespassing call. Hector was unarmed. No verbal warning was given. From next door, Hector’s mom heard gunfire, and she ran outside. Hector called to his mother, but the police would not let Lucia Morejon ride in the ambulance with her dying son.

Dozens of grieving community members took to the streets Wednesday afternoon to demand #JusticeForHECTOR

Full story and pictures: Long Beach Police Execute Unarmed Teen Hector Morejon on Suspicion Of Trespassing by Jessica Lux

"Sold out! Sold out! Took money from Wall Street!" came shouts from the crowd when Senate candidate Kamala Harris took the stage at the California Democratic Party convention. As California Attorney General, Kamala Harris protected the banks from criminal prosecution for their crimes by orchestrating a sweetheart deal of a settlement.

Harris, who is running for the Senate seat that will be vacated upon Barbara Boxer's retirement at the end of 2016, was scheduled to deliver a stump speech to the LA County Young Democrats in the Grand Plaza on Saturday afternoon.

A cardboard sign at the convention summarized the situation: "$650 Billion Stolen; Only 18 Billion 'Repaid.' Who Says Crime Doesn't Pay? Bankers Have It Made!"

Full story and photos: Foreclosure Victims Occupy Senate Stump Speech of Kamala Harris by Occupy Fights Foreclosures

At Thursday's LAPD community meeting in Venice following the fatal shooting of unarmed 29-year-old Brendon Glenn, also known to friends and the Rainbow Family as Dizzle, community members took the microphone for public comment. Bonin was criticized for his inaction in helping houseless people--breaking promises to provide basic services and failure to meet.

Bonin's answer: "I meet and talk to people who are unhoused every week. . . . What I'm not going to do is take a meeting organized by activists--outside agitators who are trying to..."

At this point, the room crowd erupted in outrage at the slur just uttered by elected representative Mike Bonin.

Before handing the microphone to the next person in line, Busch declared, "Maybe we should stop talking to politicians. How many times have I asked you for a toilet?"

Full story: Councilmember Bonin Calls People of Venice Outraged by Police Murder "Outside Agitators" by Los Angeles Peoples Media | Related story and photos: Brendon Glenn Dies and Venice S/Weeps by Peggy Lee Kennedy

Interviews on video (YouTube) by WeAreChange

May 1 was a day of international solidarity for Australian Aborigines, many whom are in danger of being driven off their ancestral lands and out of communities. Recent months have seen heightened activism in Australia concerning this issue. Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who's dismissed ancient Indigenous ways as "a lifestyle choice," has expressed concern over the expense of providing electricity and water to Aboriginal communities.

Over 85 demonstrations were held across Australia on Friday. Also participating were people in London; Hong Kong; Paris (via Idle No More, France); New Zealand; Finland; New York; and Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, a rally was held at Echo Park Lake. More than 25 people attended in the middle of the day. Some passersby and people already sitting on the grass took interest in the speakers.

Full story and photos: L.A. Stands in Solidarity with Australian Aborigines by Ross Plesset

Update: Sonali Kolkatkar interviews Samantha Cook of SOSBlakAustralia (November 30, 2015)

Families feeling the abusive foreclosure practices of Wells Fargo occupied bank branches in both City of Commerce (on Whitter Blvd.) and Studio City on Saturday, April 25, 2015. Members of Occupy Fights Foreclosures (OFF) and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) asked local branch managers to forward letters describing violations of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights to Wells Fargo headquarters.

The locations of Saturday's actions were not publicly disclosed in advance. Only a morning meet-up location in downtown L.A. was provided to participants and media. Regardless, security in Commerce appeared to be on high alert Saturday morning. Half a dozen security guards on bicycles circled the shopping center parking lot outside the Wells Fargo branch in advance of the protest. However, twenty minutes elapsed between the start of the lobby protest and the arrival of representatives of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department (LASD).

One asked a man carrying a "Wells Fargo: King of Foreclosures" sign a question, and received such a passionate response that the deputy nodded and stepped back in deference to the man's right to express his grievances against Wells Fargo.

Sheriff Deputy Fonseca demonstrated a hostile attitude, intimidating videographer Patti Beers into stepping back from one portion of the sidewalk. He then retreated to corner of the sidewalk with the other law enforcement officers and private security. Multiple private security guards recorded Saturday's action on phone cameras, once they had the protection of the LASD.

Simultaneous to the action in East Los Angeles, members of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) occupied a Wells Fargo branch in Studio City, CA to bring attention to the plight of an 80-year-old woman who has lived in her home for five decades. Wells Fargo would rather evict her than work out a loan modification.

Full story and pix: Families Protest Abusive Foreclosure Practices of Wells Fargo Bank by Jessica Lux