Los Angeles City Council member Kevin de León returned to the City Council chambers on Friday for the first time after a recording of a racist conversation among L.A. City Council members was released to the public, the Los Angeles Times reports.
According to the Times' report, chaos ensued once people noticed he had returned. City Councilmember Paul Krekorian then called for a 10-minute recess, which ended up lasting for 45 minutes.
ABC7 reporter Emily Holshouser said that "the live broadcast feed has been cut. I'm told it's absolute mayhem inside the chambers."
After about 10 minutes of speaking to Krekorian, de León got up and left the room.
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De León was part of a racist conversation with two other councilmembers and a labor leader that was recorded last year, and anonymously leaked to the public in October. Council President Nury Martinez resigned as a result of the public fallout. Councilman Gil Cedillo still has not resigned.
Police ejected two men from the room while opposing members of the crowd shouted at each other. “Both men made comments or gestures to suggest that it was going to become physical, so we intervened at that time,” said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Marco Duarte, who is assigned to the council chamber.