Disgraced L.A. city councilman Kevin De León made a stir with his first in-person appearance at a meeting in months on Friday—before engaging in a physical fight with an activist. De León’s contentious return came two months after a racist phone call leaked of him and other council members. The fight was partially caught on video, showing De León and Black activist Jason Reedy, an organizer with the People’s City Council, in a heated argument, after several activists called on De León to resign. The video shows a man who appears to be De León’s security push Reedy, who then follows De León into a back room with his arms up, where the fight escalates with De León charging the activist. The councilman said in a statement that he was the one assaulted, while activists at the scene said De León was the one who assaulted Reedy. “Video footage clearly shows him and his supporters initiating this assault while Mr. Reedy stands prone,” a lawyer for Reedy told the Los Angeles Times. De León maintains that he was the one attacked, and his chief of staff said he plans to file charges. City council president Paul Krekorian called the incident an “intolerable” crime against De León in a statement released late Friday.
