CNN Reporter Says Video Of LA Councilman’s Fight Shows ‘Some Real Divisions On The Left’
A CNN reporter said Monday that a brawl between a Los Angeles City Council member and a local activist displayed “some real divisions” among liberals.
Democratic city councilman Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles, brawled with Jason Reedy, an organizer and member of a “People’s City Council” during a Friday toy giveaway, video posted on social media appears to show.
The video appears to show de Leon throwing Reedy to the floor after the activist grabbed the hat de Leon was wearing during the incident. A longer video posted to Twitter appears to show Reedy filming de Leon in the lead-up to the brawl, before the two men appeared to exchange heated words.
“I mean, what this really speaks to are the political divisions here in Los Angeles. Here it’s not so much left versus right, red versus blue,” CNN reporter Nick Watt told host Ana Cabrera. “There are some real divisions on the left, amongst the left, some real racial tensions. That’s what was playing out here. Listen, this was a tree lighting ceremony, more than 100 kids present.”
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De Leon, a former state senator, and Reedy each filed reports with the Los Angeles Police Department, which is investigating the incident, according to CBS Los Angeles. De Leon previously came under fire after he and then-Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez were allegedly caught on tape, with Martinez claiming a white colleague was raising an adopted black child like “an accessory” and de Leon comparing the colleague’s handling of the child to Martinez holding a Louis Vuitton bag.
“This all comes at a historic time in Los Angeles. We just had our first woman, our first woman of color, sworn in as mayor of the city, Karen Bass. And this morning, before she even went to city hall, she says she declared homelessness here a state of emergency,” Watt said. “That is the big political issue she has to deal with. She is basically staking her reputation on it. It will be a tough job that requires collaboration, cooperation amongst the city’s politicians, so, really, the last thing she needs right now is something like this, wrestling between politicians and people.”
Cabrera called the brawl “a sideshow” before thanking the reporter.
