[dropcap size=big]H[/dropcap]omeless advocates and other demonstrators forced L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti to halt a speech on Monday at USC, shouting at him and criticizing his approach to the city’s housing and homelessness crisis and other issues.
Garcetti was forced to end his speech just 20 minutes in, and then walked off the stage and out of the auditorium. The protest was organized by several groups, including the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LACAN), the L.A. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, NOlympics LA, and Los Angeles Catholic Worker.
"According to the LA Community Action Network, nearly 1,800 unsheltered people in Skid Row share access to just 9 toilets […] which means many avoid them altogether and use buckets which are then emptied into the streets and trash cans." via @NewsHour https://t.co/YJ9Dco1RfI
— Joseph Kohlmann · @jkohlmann@mastodon.social (@jkohlmann) October 28, 2018
Garcetti planned to deliver the keynote speech at an event celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to an audience of about 350 people at the Bovard Auditorium when the demonstrators began shouting at him. The UN declaration was inaugurated on Dec. 10, 1948.