When members of Black Lives Matter-LA attempted to enter yesterday's city council meeting, they were confronted by a small group of mostly Latinos chanting, "all lives matter."
"Just because they stopped hanging you guys, we're not gonna start getting hung," Carlos Heredia said while standing between BLM supporters and the door to the council floor. "You continue to hang our people, and it's done. We gotta stand up for that."
Hours later, Heredia appeared at a luncheon to welcome newly-elected council members. In attendance were Mayor Karen Bass, Council President Pro Tempore Curren Price, Council President Paul Krekorian, and newly-elected Councilmember Katy Young Yaroslavsky.
"The only racism at City Hall today was Black Lives Matter organization," Heredia wrote in an Instagram post that included a carousel of photos from the day. In one image, Heredia poses with a smiling Bass. In another video posted on Heredia's IG, he chows down on a plate of food while seated one table away from the mayor and within close proximity to other city leaders. "You want to stay ghetto; that's where you stay," Heredia says in one of several videos he posted yesterday at the event.
Seeing Heredia at an event with the first Black woman to be elected Mayor in Los Angeles as well as some of the most powerful city leaders, just hours after shouting "all lives matter" in defense of de León, has led some to question the relationship between Heredia and the councilmember. During yesterday's city council meeting, Heredia reportedly described himself as KDL's "bodyguard."
Pete Brown, a spokesperson for de León, declined to comment on the video footage of Heredia shouting "all lives matter" or answer questions. Ever since his boss was caught on audio making racist remarks, he's ignored repeated texts, calls, and emails from L.A. TACO dating back to late October.
Heredia appears to be affiliated with a tax-exempt Montebello-based non-profit called From Gangs to Glory Opportunity. Despite posing with Bass yesterday, Heredia previously supported billionaire Rick Caruso for mayor. "In my opinion, it's better to have a representative with stable income already, so they don't try to make income through politics and favors," Heredia wrote under a carousel of images that included a selfie with Caruso.
Heredia has a history of making anti-Black statements. In a 2020 Facebook post, he wrote, "Our new generation call each other nigga and sag their pants, why do you think they don't respect us anymore and attack our people."
"We lost our identity, lost the warrior, and became the sheep start by checking your own. When you see it, don't stay quiet. Let them know it's a disgrace."
