David Lacey, the husband of Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, was accused of pointing a gun at a group of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles protesters outside the Lacey’s Granada Hills home in March. Now, Attorney General of California Xavier Becerra has charged him with three counts of misdemeanor assault.
Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and other activists have been advocating for Jackie Lacey’s resignation and replacement for some time now. Their key complaints revolve around her unwillingness to prosecute law enforcement officers who have killed civilians in L.A. County as well as her handling of the Ed Buck case.
On March 2, protesters, including Black Lives Matter Los Angeles co-founder and professor of Pan-African studies at Cal State L.A. Melina Abdullah, assembled in front of the Lacey’s home before 6 a.m. According to the Los Angeles Times, the group consisted of about 30 people. Abdullah told the Times that Jackie Lacey had previously agreed to arrange a meeting with them, but ultimately failed to do so.
“So we decided to have the meeting in front of her house,” she said.
She tweeted that the group arrived so early because they wanted to speak to her before she left for the day.
When some of the protesters knocked on Lacey’s door, she didn’t answer, but her husband did. Abdullah uploaded a video of the encounter to Twitter in which David Lacey can be seen holding a handgun as he says, “Get off my porch. I will shoot you. Get off of my porch. I don’t care who you are. Get off of my porch right now.”
To avoid a conflict of interest, the California Department of Justice handled the prosecution of the incident. The charging documents, obtained by Politico, allege that David Lacey “did willfully and unlawfully commit an assault” upon Abdullah, Dahlia Ferlito and Justin Marks “with a firearm.” An arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 13.
Jackie Lacey defended her husband during a news briefing that followed the confrontation, saying he acted out of fear and was “profoundly sorry.”
She also said that she’s been harassed numerous times during her tenure as DA and that while she expects people to express their First Amendment rights, she doesn’t think protesters should show up at someone’s home.
Jackie Lacey is currently up for reelection this November. Were she to win, her victory would lead her to a third term as district attorney. Her opponent is former San Francisco DA George Gascón, who has been endorsed by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and the L.A. Times editorial board. Jackie Lacey recently lost endorsements from Rep. Adam Schiff and Assemblymember Laura Friedman, while Mayor Eric Garcetti — whose Hancock Park home has seen its own share of protesters lately — seems to be reconsidering his.