Black Lives Matter Chicago founder says looting steps on message, condemns Mayor Lightfoot's inaction
Black Lives Matter Chicago founder Aislinn Pulley says the recent looting in Chicago undercuts the message the organization is trying to convey, while faulting Chicago's mayor Lori Lightfoot for slow-pedaling reforms to the city's police department.
The Los Angeles Police Department sent police officers to the home of a Black Lives Matter organizer Wednesday morning because of a hoax call, although the organizer says she does not believe LAPD's narrative.
"I believe what they were trying to do is throw me off my game. They were trying to intimidate me out of acting," activist Melina Abdullah said in a video posted on social media Wednesday.
BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVES TO OUST LA COUNTY'S FIRST BLACK DISTRICT ATTORNEY
LAPD received a call claiming three people were being held hostage by a man with a gun at a Los Angeles home, the department said in a press release.
"After the officers were able to verify the safety of the residents, the on-scene investigation determined the call was a hoax," LAPD said in a statement.
In this Aug. 5, 2020, file photo, Melina Abdullah speaks during a Black Lives Matter protest at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
LAPD is asking anyone with information about the "swatting" incident, defined as "a false emergency call for service, generally of a nature which causes a large police response," to come forward with information. LAPD's Major Crimes Division will investigate.
"Dozens and dozens of police, LAPD and others, showed up at my house this morning, guns drawn, assault rifles drawn, really terrorizing me and my children. We're OK," Abdullah said on Wednesday.
"I don't ever believe the words of the police," she continued. "You shouldn't either."
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Abdullah livestreamed the incident on Instagram on Wednesday morning, CBS Los Angeles reported.
Abdullah's Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter has been calling for the ouster of County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, saying she failed to prosecute police officers who were involved in fatal shootings during her tenure in office.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Herb Wesson said whoever made the hoax call needs to be held "accountable."
"While she's known to all of you as an activist with BLMLA, [Abdullah] is the mother of three children and to put her family through this is unacceptable, no matter where your politics may lie," Wesson wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
LAPD declined to comment beyond Wednesday's press release.
Fox News' Nick Givas contributed to this report.
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