Activists at Los Angeles City Hall earlier this week were demanding greater civility in council chambers after a gadfly made racist and violent comments targeting Council President Herb Wesson and Councilmember Nury Martinez.
Wesson received an offensive drawing at a meeting earlier this month. On it was a person hanging from a tree, and a hooded Ku Klux Klan figure holding a noose. The KKK figure also held a sign using the n-word in referring to Wesson, who is black. Wayne Spindler is accused of making those threats as well as muttering swear words at Martinez. Spindler denies the comments were racial, but he has appeared in chambers in the past wearing a white hood with a red swastika drawing and signaling "Hail, Hitler."
Wesson has filed a restraining order against Spindler who is not only free on bond after being arrested Friday, but also free to continue attending council meetings.
Keeping discourse civil during government proceedings can get tricky. A man sued LA after he was kicked out of a meeting in 2011 for refusing to take off a KKK hood. He claimed his free speech rights were violated. The city settled the suit two years ago.
The activists want the district attorney to aggressively pursue charges against Spindler. Additionally, because Spindler is a licensed attorney, they are calling on the California Bar Association to disbar him.
Guest:
Eugene Volokh, Professor of Law at UCLA expert in the First Amendment
Fernando J. Guerra, Ph.D., Director, The Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University; KPCC Trustee