John Kobult and Ken Chiampou, the talking heads team on KFI-AM, are not fans of the California DREAM Act and aren't afraid to show tell it. Now a immigrants' rights group is demanding the duo apologize for harassing a supporter of the legislation.The group, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), is a regional community-based organization. They say that Jon and Ken are "acerbic, rude, and down-right cruel."
The incident in question involves the John and Ken audience harassing a CHIRLA staffer, which happened, the group alleges, at the goading of the radio personalities. As part of the harassment, CHIRLA says the callers took part in "terrorizing [and] threatening [the staffer] and crashing the organization’s phone system," according to the organization.
On September 6th, the show hostsposted an "action alert" on their site urging listeners to contact Governor Jerry Brown to tell him they want him to veto the bill.
The bill is AB 131, authored by Gil Cedillo (D-CA 45th District), which gives nonresident aliens living and studying in California access to financial aid for higher education. The California DREAM Act has two parts, the first of which, AB 130, was signed into law by Brown in July.
CHIRLA is calling for a public apology on the part of John and Ken. While Angelica Salas, CHIRLA's Executive Director, agrees that her organization and the KFI personalities differ on their stance regarding immigration, she does not believe that the hosts (or "kings of low-brow and distasteful absurdity," as Salas says) are helping further the discussion of the subject by using "hate speech."
In part, a statement issued by Salas includes the following:
John and Ken accuse immigrants and supporters of many societal ills. But if anyone is to be blamed for asphyxiating decency and level-headed discourse with vile and putrid misinformation it’s John and Ken. If anyone should be ashamed of infantile and impudent behavior it's John and Ken
