The husband of Jackie Lacey, the controversial Democratic district attorney up for re-election Tuesday in Los Angeles, was caught on camera pointing a gun at protesters early monday.
Black Lives Matter protesters say the husband pointed a gun at them before as they demanded a long-promised meeting with Lacey at her home.
Authorities have not confirmed the activists’ account regarding the events at the home of District Attorney Jackie Lacey.
In a video posted by Black Lives Matter organizer Melina Abdullah, a man pointing a gun opens the door and says: “Get off. Get off of my porch.”
You can view the video below:
I’m front of DA Jackie Lacey’s house for that community meeting she promised with the @BLMLA crew. Rang her bell to invite her.
Her husband pulled a gun, cocked it, pointed it at my chest and said “I’ll shoot you. I don’t care who you are.” @WP4BL @RealJusticePAC @shaunking pic.twitter.com/WtazUWSJIC
— Melina Abdullah (@DocMellyMel) March 2, 2020
Abdullah elaborated to KTTV on how the protesters rang Lacey’s doorbell to simply meet with her.
“Her husband met us at the door with a gun,” Abdullah told KTTV. “We heard him cock it, he pointed the gun as he opened the door and then when he saw me, he pointed the gun directly at my chest.”
The encounter came a day before a primary for district attorney; Lacey is seeking a third term.
Lacey, the first black woman to lead the country’s largest local prosecutor’s office, has clashed repeatedly with Black Lives Matter protesters. They say she is too protective of law enforcement and doesn’t prosecute officers who fatally shoot suspects. According to The Los Angeles Times Lacey has also come under fire from local activists for being slow to pull the trigger on wealthy Democratic insider and convicted murderer Ed Buck, who had been a big donor to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that officers were called to a Granada Hills home around 5:40 a.m. regarding about 50 protesters outside a home, Officer Lizeth Lomeli said.
Lomeli said there have not been any arrests but police did not immediately confirm the report of a man brandishing a gun.
In the video, a woman off-camera says: “Good morning. Are you going to shoot me?”
The man, identified by Cannick as Lacey’s husband David, says: “I will shoot you. Get off of my porch.”
The woman responds: “Can you tell Jackie Lacey that we’re here?”
The man says: “I don’t care who you are, get off of my porch right now. We’re calling the police right now.”
The district attorney’s office referred media inquires to Lacey’s campaign, which did not immediately comment.
Lacey, a two-term incumbent, is facing George Gascon, the former San Francisco DA, and former public defender Rachel Rossi. The primary race will be decided if one of the candidates receives more than half the votes on Tuesday. If no one achieves a majority, the top two will face off in November.
Gascon’s campaign did not immediately comment Monday.
Rossi, whose spokeswoman Jasmyne Cannick also posted the video on Twitter, criticized Lacey’s reluctance to meet with the protesters.
“As District Attorney, I will never run from the community,” Rossi said in a statement Monday. “And I never thought I’d have to say it, but I will also never threaten to shoot — or have others threaten to shoot — community members protesting my actions.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article