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Los Angeles Times
26 minutes ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Airbnb allowed rampant price gouging following L.A. fires, city attorney lawsuit alleges
The Los Angeles city attorney's office has filed a lawsuit against Airbnb, accusing the home-sharing platform of allow price gouging and unverified hosts and addresses at more than 2,000 rentals following the January firestorm in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. In a statement, L.A. City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto's office accused Airbnb of allowing illegal rental price hikes and permitting false and nonexistent hosts and addresses on the platform. The lawsuit seeks a permanent order to halt Airbnb from hiking up prices during the existing state of emergency, as well as reimbursement for consumers who were charged higher rates. 'Although Airbnb subsequently took steps to curtail price gouging, evidence indicates that illegal gouging on the site continues and may be ongoing,' Feldstein Soto said in a statement announcing the civil enforcement action. 'Airbnb is aware that its verification processes are inadequate … potentially luring prospective tenants into a false sense of security about its hosts and locations.' Airbnb disputed the lawsuit's accusations, saying the platform has played a consistent role in supporting victims with financial aid following the wildfires. 'Since the wildfires broke out, Airbnb … contributed nearly $30 million to fire recovery efforts in Los Angeles, including free emergency housing to nearly 24,000 people impacted by the fires,' an Airbnb spokesperson told The Times. 'We will continue supporting the city of Los Angeles in its recovery and rebuilding efforts.' The lawsuit seeks fines of $2,500 for each instance of alleged price gouging in L.A., which could reach between 2,000 and 3,000 properties, or up to $7.5 million in total penalties. The lawsuit also alleges that Airbnb's 'inadequate' verification processes left users vulnerable to offenses such as identity theft, robbery, sexual assault, invasion of privacy and voyeurism. Airbnb did not respond to an inquiry from The Times regarding those claims. The unverified and 'nonexistent' hosts alleged in the lawsuit refer to cases of hosts using fake names to represent themselves on the platform. According to the lawsuit, cases include a profile under the name of 'Amber Hiller' that actually belonged to a woman named Akila Nourollah, and a host named 'Greg,' verified using the ID of someone named Guven Sacikarali, a relative of the actual account controller, Ali Sacikaral. While not the correct name of the account owners, Airbnb does allow the use of 'preferred names' in its terms and conditions. The lawsuit also mentions several cases in which verified locations on Airbnb were actually located up to four miles away from the advertised address. If price gouging claims are determined to be true, the lawsuit claims that Airbnb can be found to have violated the state's Unfair Competition Law, California Penal Code Section 396, the Anti-Gouging Law, and the Jan. 16 state of emergency declaration by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which states that it would be illegal for Airbnb to increase the pricing of rentals by more than 10% during the state of emergency. The firestorm that erupted on Jan. 7 ultimately destroyed more than 16,000 buildings in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Altadena. In January, Airbnb released a statement denouncing price gouging and promising to make it impossible for hosts to raise the prices of their properties by more than 10% from their pre-wildfire rates. 'With tens of thousands of people currently displaced in the Los Angeles area and the prospect of that figure continuing to increase, the last thing anyone should encounter is pricing for a hotel room or a home that seeks to take advantage of a desperate situation,' the statement read. The company also pledged to give free $1,000 vouchers to fire victims for Airbnb stays. By Jan. 28, more than 11,000 vouchers had been sent out. However, some fire victims claimed that strict regulations and a lack of response to applications made the vouchers essentially useless. While the state of emergency declaration aimed to prevent rental price hikes during and following the fires, previous Times reporting revealed that prices had continued to balloon in parts of L.A., leaving those without shelter with little options besides expensive stays. An Airbnb spokesperson said the cap on increasing rental prices following the fires stayed firm, allowing for no illegal increases. The company cited California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta's early statements, which praised Airbnb's promises to comply with the state's emergency declarations. 'They're doing the right thing, I thank them for doing that. We hope other platforms will follow suit and do the same,' Bonta said during a Jan. 16 news conference. However, Bonta's statements came before many long-term Airbnb rates were set.
Los Angeles Times
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
L.A., other local governments seek to join lawsuit to stop ‘unconstitutional' immigration raids
The city and county of Los Angeles are among the local governments seeking to join a lawsuit calling on the Trump administration to stop 'unlawful detentions' during ongoing immigration sweeps in Southern California. On Tuesday, the governments filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Public Counsel and immigrant rights groups against the Trump administration last week. The lawsuit claims that the region is 'under siege' by federal agents and aims to stop federal agencies from an 'ongoing pattern and practice of flouting the Constitution and federal law' during immigration raids. 'These unconstitutional roundups and raids cannot be allowed to continue. They cannot become the new normal,' said Los Angeles City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. Feldstein Soto was joined by Mayor Karen Bass and officials from other cities also seeking to join the lawsuit. The motion from the local governments comes as the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Southern California enters its second month. Between June 6 and June 22, federal agents arrested 1,618 immigrants for deportation in Los Angeles and surrounding areas, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 'Day in and day out, there is no telling who these federal agents will target or when they will strike, since they refuse to coordinate with local authorities,' attorney John Schwab, who is representing Los Angeles and other cities, wrote in the motion to intervene. 'All that is certain is that Defendants' aim is to instill maximum fear in ... communities and wreak havoc on the economy of one of the most diverse and vibrant areas in the country.' The motion argues that the immigration raids are obstructing local governments' ability to perform critical law enforcement functions and depriving them of tax revenue due to a slowdown in the local economy. L.A. County and the other cities — Culver City, Montebello, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera, Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Pasadena — hope to become part of the lawsuit at a hearing on Thursday where a judge will consider issuing a temporary restraining order that would bar the administration from making unconstitutional immigration arrests. 'How do we know the difference between this and a kidnapping?' Bass asked at the press conference. In a statement, L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis said, 'For the past month, we've seen individuals picked up at car washes and Home Depot parking lots, then simply disappear without warrants, probable cause, or due process ... These actions have created fear, trauma, and instability in our communities. Small businesses are suffering. People are afraid to go to work, take their kids to school, or ride public transportation.' Feldstein Soto stressed that a temporary restraining order would not stop the Trump administration from conducting legal civil immigration enforcement in L.A. In a court filing opposing the temporary restraining order, U.S. Department of Justice attorneys argued that L.A. and the other local governments were trying to 'interfere with the enforcement of federal immigration law.' L.A. officials had already been considering a lawsuit before filing the motion Tuesday. Seven city council members signed onto a proposal asking Feldstein Soto to prioritize 'immediate legal action' to protect the civil rights of Angelenos. Feldstein Soto said her office would soon have more announcements on litigation against the administration. The Trump administration has sued the city of Los Angeles as well, claiming that its sanctuary policy is illegal and discriminates against federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Times staff writer Rachel Uranga contributed to this report
Los Angeles Times
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
As Los Angeles faces budget crisis, legal payouts skyrocket
The amount of money that the city of Los Angeles pays annually for police misconduct, trip and falls, and other lawsuits has ballooned, rising from $64 million a decade ago to $254 million last year and $289 million this fiscal year. The reasons are complicated, ranging from aging sidewalks to juries' tendency to award larger judgments to possible shifts in legal strategy at the city attorney's office to an increase in the sheer number of lawsuits against the city. The biggest chunk of payouts over the past five years were for 'dangerous conditions' — lawsuits singling out faulty city infrastructure, such as broken elevators — at 32%, followed by civil rights violations and unlawful uses of force at 18%, and traffic collisions involving city vehicles also at 18%. City officials have cited the legal payouts as a significant factor in a nearly $1-billion budget shortfall for fiscal year 2025-26 that was closed with layoffs and other spending cuts. City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, who took office in December 2022, heads the office that defends the city against lawsuits. In an interview with The Times and public appearances throughout the city, Feldstein Soto cited a backlog of cases from the COVID-19 pandemic, when courts were barely moving, that were settled or went to trial in recent years. 'Structured settlements' negotiated by her predecessor, Mike Feuer, which are paid out annually rather than in one lump sum, have also contributed to the tab, she said. Feldstein Soto also said she believes juries are increasingly antagonistic to city governments, resulting in larger verdicts. Feuer said in an interview that the city was entering into structured settlements before he took office, and he does not believe he increased their use. To explain the rise in legal liability payouts during his tenure — from about $40 million in 2013 to about $91 million in 2022 — Feuer cited a lack of investment in city infrastructure like streets and sidewalks during the 2008 financial crisis. In public appearances, Feldstein Soto has sometimes blamed plaintiffs for trying to get financial compensation for what she characterized as risky behavior or interpersonal disputes. Speaking to the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association earlier this year, she said that two types of lawsuits — 'dangerous conditions' lawsuits and those brought by city employees over working conditions — are ripe for abuse. Some employees who sue the city simply don't like their bosses, Feldstein Soto said, citing a lawsuit by an LAPD captain, Stacey Vince, who alleged that higher-ups retaliated against her after she complained about her boss. Vince was awarded $10.1 million by a jury, and the city subsequently settled the case for just under $6 million. Feldstein Soto also described one man who sued the city as an 'idiot.' The man was riding his electric scooter without a helmet, Feldstein Soto said, when he crashed on an uneven sidewalk and into a nearby tree, suffering a traumatic brain injury. According to Feldstein Soto, taxpayers ultimately pay the price for these lawsuits. 'Please understand that every dollar you award is your money,' she said. The number of lawsuits filed against the city has risen each year since the pandemic, from 1,131 in 2021 to 1,560 in 2024. At the same time, the average amount the city pays per case has increased dramatically, from under $50,000 in 2022 to $132,180 in 2024. A contributing factor is the increase in payouts of least $1 million, with 17 such cases in 2022 and 39 in 2024. (The city counts settlements or jury verdicts in the fiscal year they are paid out, not when the dollar amount is decided.) From July 2024 to March 2025, the city paid $1 million or more in 51 lawsuits. Feldstein Soto said these 'nuclear verdicts' cut deep into the city budget and could raise payouts for similar cases in the future. Total annual payouts in police misconduct cases jumped from $15 million in 2020 to $50 million in 2024. Dangerous conditions cases rose from around $41 million in 2020 to about $84 million in 2024. Earlier this year, the city paid $21 million to plaintiffs in a series of lawsuits related to a botched LAPD bomb squad fireworks detonation that injured more than 20 people and displaced many residents. Also this year, the city paid out a $17.7-million verdict to the family of a man with mental health issues killed by an off-duty LAPD officer. This coming fiscal year, the city increased its allocation for liability payouts from about $87 million to $187 million — far less than what it has been paying in recent years — out of a $14-billion budget. City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who chairs the council's public works committee, said the rising payouts stem in part from the city's long-term lack of investment in infrastructure. The city spent about 10% of its overall budget on streets and other public works last year — substantially less than it spent on police, said Hernandez, who favors a smaller LAPD. 'As a city, we don't invest in the maintenance of our city,' she said. 'I have felt like I've been screaming into the void about some of these things.' In one lawsuit paid out this year, the city agreed to give $3 million to a man who tripped over a slightly uneven sidewalk and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Last April, the city reached a $21-million settlement with a man whose skull was broken by a street lamp part that fell on him. The city had gone to trial, with a jury awarding the man $22 million, but the parties eventually settled for the slightly lower amount. 'I believe the driving force is the delays and lack of maintenance of the city that has caused an increase in such incidents,' said Arash Zabetian, a lawyer for the man hit by the streetlight. Some plaintiffs' attorneys say that Feldstein Soto's legal strategies are contributing to the rising liability costs. They assert that she is taking more cases to trial, resulting in larger verdicts than if she had settled. Matthew McNicholas, an attorney who often sues the city on behalf of police officers, said he recently went to trial in five cases and won all of them, for a total payout of more than $40 million. He would have been happy to settle all five cases for a total of less than $10 million, he said. One of the lawsuits, which ended with a $13-million verdict, was filed by two male officers accused of drawing a penis on a suspect's abdomen. The officers alleged that higher-ups did not cast the same suspicion on their female colleagues. In another of the lawsuits, a whistleblower alleged that he was punished for highlighting problems in the LAPD Bomb Detection K-9 Section. A jury also awarded him $13 million. 'It's not a tactic to say we're going to play hardball. It's just stupid,' McNicholas said. 'I am frustrated because she goes and blames my clients and runaway juries for her problems.' Greg Smith, another plaintiffs' attorney, said he has also noticed a tendency at Feldstein Soto's office to push cases to trial. 'Everything is a fight,' Smith said. 'I have been suing the city for 30 years, and this has been the worst administration with respect to trying to settle cases.' Feldstein Soto said her office settles 'every case we can.' 'It's in nobody's interest to go to trial. It's a waste of resources,' she said. 'But we will not settle cases where we don't think we're liable or where the demand is unreasonable.' To stem the flood of large payouts, Feldstein Soto is looking to Sacramento for help, proposing a bill that would cap lawsuits against California cities at $1 million or three times the economic losses caused by an incident, whichever is greater. Caps on damages exist already in 38 states, according to Feldstein Soto's office. She has yet to find a state legislator to sponsor the bill.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Few among hundreds of campus protesters in L.A. facing charges, reigniting debate
When pro-Palestinian protesters erected encampments at two of Los Angeles' most prominent college campuses last year, the weeks-long demonstrations ended in dozens of arrests at USC and hundreds more at UCLA after a violent overnight attack by counterprotesters. Law enforcement officials promised swift action against those who broke the law. But late last month, Los Angeles City. Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto announced that only two people — out of nearly 350 people arrested — would face criminal charges from her office. Feldstein Soto's decision not to charge in all but a handful of cases has reignited debate about how the protests were handled and left some campus officials wondering whether future agitators will be emboldened. Read more: Their work in peril, UCLA researchers decry Trump administration funding cuts at protest In the year since the dramatic scenes on both campuses, Jewish groups and the Trump administration have accused USC and UCLA of tolerating antisemitism, and Jewish individuals have sued UCLA and pro-Palestinian groups. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators, meanwhile, have sued UCLA three times, claiming it failed to protect them from a violent mob that attacked their encampment last May. In charging only two suspects, the city attorney has frustrated campus officials, law enforcement leaders and demonstrators, who were on opposite sides of a skirmish line last year, for different reasons, with some alleging she has shown bias against pro-Palestinian demonstrators. A spokesperson for Feldstein Soto did not respond to a question about those allegations. In a previous statement about the charges, Feldstein Soto thanked prosecutors in her office "for their dedication to the rule of law and their commitment to objectively evaluating the evidence and referrals received on each of these matters.' Most serious violent crimes are handled by the L.A. County district attorney's office, with lesser charges referred to the city attorney for review. Feldstein Soto declined to charge 338 protesters arrested by Los Angeles and University of California police on both campuses on suspicion of failing to disperse, trespassing and conspiracy to trespass. In a statement issued last month, her office said it rejected most of those cases for lack of evidence or because a university had shown "failure or inability to assist in identification or other information needed for prosecution." Her office reviewed nine other cases of people accused of resisting arrest, obstruction, disturbing the peace, battery, vandalism and assault with a deadly weapon. Four of those cases did not result in charges and three were referred to a city attorney hearing, essentially a diversionary process that often ends without the filing of charges. That left two men facing misdemeanor offenses, both related to violence near UCLA. The incident at the center of the cases unfolded after days of complaints from some UCLA faculty and students that a protest encampment was blocking free movement on campus and leading to the harassment of Jewish students. On the night of May 1, 2024, a group of pro-Israel demonstrators attacked, triggering mayhem. Read more: 'Shut it down!' How group chats, rumors and fear sparked a night of violence at UCLA Dozens of people were involved in the violent incident, and videos showed assailants dragging pro-Palestinian demonstrators to the ground, beating people with weapons, hurling items at the encampment and, in one case, pepper-spraying a journalist in the face. Though several people were involved in the violence, Feldstein Soto charged only Edan On, 19, who is now believed to be in Israel. On was first identified by CNN last year. Multiple videos showed him in a white hoodie and face mask wildly swinging a pipe at demonstrators. University police initially asked the L.A. County district attorney's office to bring felony charges against On, but prosecutors declined, citing his age, the minimal injuries suffered by his victim and his lack of a criminal record, according to court documents. Still, prosecutors referred his case to Feldstein Soto for misdemeanor charges. Feldstein Soto last month charged On with battery and exhibiting a deadly weapon, records show. He is due in court in late May. On's attorney declined to comment. Last month, independent journalist Eric Levai published photos that purported to show On standing outside an Israel Defense Forces recruitment center near Tel Aviv. Levai also highlighted a TikTok post, purportedly from On, showing him in IDF fatigues. A city attorney's office spokesman didn't respond to questions about On's whereabouts. The IDF did not respond to multiple inquiries; On's attorney declined to comment on this issue. Last year, court records show, On successfully petitioned a judge to return his Israeli passport, which had been seized after his arrest. His attorney argued in court filings that On was not a flight risk. A second defendant, 31-year-old Matthew Katz, was charged with battery, false imprisonment and resisting arrest related to conduct near UCLA on April 30, 2024, records show. Attorney Sabrina Darwish denied the allegations against Katz, whom she described as a "peaceful participant" who was demonstrating in support of Palestinians. Darwish said in an email to The Times that the charges "lack both legal merit and evidentiary support." Read more: UCLA criticized for 'chaotic' response to protest melee in UC independent review "Mr. Katz is the only protester charged from the pro-Palestinian encampment, which resulted in over 200 arrests last year," Darwish said. "The decision to prosecute appears to be an overreach influenced more by public pressure than by the rule of law." Pro-Palestinian demonstrators say Feldstein Soto has failed to hold the group that attacked the UCLA encampment accountable. A lawsuit filed in March against UCLA and police agencies identified an additional 20 individuals allegedly responsible for violence. 'There's overwhelming evidence of over four hours of assaults and batteries on these kids," said one UCLA encampment demonstrator, who asked to be identified only as "Huey," for fear of reprisals. "The city sat back and watched as these people were brutally attacked." One person accused of attacking the encampment was charged with felonies by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office last year. Prosecutors accused Malachi Marlanlibrett of assault with a deadly weapon and battery with a hate crime enhancement, according to court records. A district attorney's office spokesman declined to comment on the reason prosecutors pursued a hate crime. Marlanlibrett's attorney didn't respond to an email seeking comment. Another man, Noel Padilla, was charged with resisting arrest and battery, records show. Both men are due back in court this week. It was not clear which side of the clash Padilla was on. Natalin Daldalian, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County public defender's office, said Padilla had been granted pretrial diversion but declined to comment further. Indignation has followed Feldstein Soto's claim that charges had to be dismissed in hundreds of other cases because of campus officials' "failure or inability to assist in identification." The head of the union that represents the UCLA Police Department officers assailed Feldstein Soto's assertion as "flat out false" and accused her of refusing to charge for "political reasons." Read more: UCLA bans Students for Justice in Palestine as a campus organization The union official, UC Officer Wade Stern, noted that campus police presented similar evidence against protesters at UC Irvine last year, which prompted Orange County prosecutors to file dozens of misdemeanor charges for failure to disperse. UC Regent Jay Sures, who said he was briefed on the information police presented to the city, accused Feldstein Soto of ignoring evidence that clearly identified people suspected of wrongdoing. "She issued a blanket dismissal," Sures said. He called the decision a "travesty of justice" that sends a "terrible message to her law enforcement partners." Spokesman Ivor Pine said the city attorney's office "received full cooperation from UCPD based on the information available to them and to us, and we did not mean to suggest otherwise." Further explaining the dropped charges, Pine said, cases were presented "without sufficient information to establish the elements of a crime as to any individual." Judea Pearl, an Israeli American UCLA computer professor and vocal supporter of Israel, said the decision not to charge "tells students that there are no consequences to these actions that broke the law and university rules, that they can just do them again." "It will embolden them," Pearl said. For years, the city attorney's office has rarely, if ever, charged protesters with failing to disperse or other nonviolent offenses related to constitutionally protected demonstrations. Such was the case with most arrests that followed President Trump's first electoral victory in 2016, the 2020 police murder of George Floyd and raucous celebrations after the Dodgers' 2020 World Series victory. But last year, Feldstein Soto took a more aggressive stance, filing obstruction charges against 31 Jewish demonstrators who blocked a portion of the 110 Freeway while calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Attorney Colleen Flynn, who represents those demonstrators, called the cases a "glaring exception" to the standard charging policy and showed bias against "people who are protesting for Palestine." The city attorney also drew concerns from LAPD officials last year when she personally lobbied for the arrest of a prominent leftist activist she alleged was involved in vandalizing the Brentwood home of the president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Detectives said video evidence did not definitively show the activist, Ricci Sergienko of People's City Council, committing a crime, records show. The organizers of last year's campus protests have said their goals were to convince university leaders to divest endowments of connections to weapons companies aiding Israel's war efforts. The encampments featured many Jewish members but also faced criticism from Jewish communities, which said they were antisemitic and demonized Israel. Read more: Justice Department probes major California universities over 'illegal DEI' in admissions More than 52,000 Gazans have been killed during Israel's military campaign, according to Hamas' Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostage in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel that triggered the latest conflict. At a moment when the Trump administration has targeted pro-Palestinian demonstrators on college campuses, some celebrated Feldstein Soto's decision not to charge in all but two of the cases as a victory for the 1st Amendment. Most of those detained last year were simply exercising their right to protest, Amelia Jones, a professor and vice dean of faculty and research at USC's Roski School of Art and Design, wrote in a statement to The Times. 'As a supporter of the students and someone who attended the entirely peaceful protests almost every day, I am thrilled to see this issue resolved, and freedom of speech ratified,' Jones said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Few among hundreds of campus protesters in L.A. facing charges, reigniting debate
When pro-Palestinian protesters erected encampments at two of Los Angeles' most prominent college campuses last year, the weeks-long demonstrations ended in dozens of arrests at USC and hundreds more at UCLA after a violent overnight attack by counterprotesters. Law enforcement officials promised swift action against those who broke the law. But late last month, Los Angeles City. Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto announced that only two people — out of nearly 350 people arrested — would face criminal charges from her office. Feldstein Soto's decision not to charge in all but a handful of cases has reignited debate about how the protests were handled and left some campus officials wondering whether future agitators will be emboldened. In the year since the dramatic scenes on both campuses, Jewish groups and the Trump administration have accused USC and UCLA of tolerating antisemitism, and Jewish individuals have sued UCLA and pro-Palestinian groups. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators, meanwhile, have sued UCLA three times, claiming it failed to protect them from a violent mob that attacked their encampment last May. In charging only two suspects, the city attorney has frustrated campus officials, law enforcement leaders and demonstrators, who were on opposite sides of a skirmish line last year, for different reasons, with some alleging she has shown bias against pro-Palestinian demonstrators. A spokesperson for Feldstein Soto did not respond to a question about those allegations. In a previous statement about the charges, Feldstein Soto thanked prosecutors in her office 'for their dedication to the rule of law and their commitment to objectively evaluating the evidence and referrals received on each of these matters.' Most serious violent crimes are handled by the L.A. County district attorney's office, with lesser charges referred to the city attorney for review. Feldstein Soto declined to charge 338 protesters arrested by Los Angeles and University of California police on both campuses on suspicion of failing to disperse, trespassing and conspiracy to trespass. In a statement issued last month, her office said it rejected most of those cases for lack of evidence or because a university had shown 'failure or inability to assist in identification or other information needed for prosecution.' Her office reviewed nine other cases of people accused of resisting arrest, obstruction, disturbing the peace, battery, vandalism and assault with a deadly weapon. Four of those cases did not result in charges and three were referred to a city attorney hearing, essentially a diversionary process that often ends without the filing of charges. That left two men facing misdemeanor offenses, both related to violence near UCLA. The incident at the center of the cases unfolded after days of complaints from some UCLA faculty and students that a protest encampment was blocking free movement on campus and leading to the harassment of Jewish students. On the night of May 1, 2024, a group of pro-Israel demonstrators attacked, triggering mayhem. Dozens of people were involved in the violent incident, and videos showed assailants dragging pro-Palestinian demonstrators to the ground, beating people with weapons, hurling items at the encampment and, in one case, pepper-spraying a journalist in the face. Though several people were involved in the violence, Feldstein Soto charged only Edan On, 19, who is now believed to be in Israel. On was first identified by CNN last year. Multiple videos showed him in a white hoodie and face mask wildly swinging a pipe at demonstrators. University police initially asked the L.A. County district attorney's office to bring felony charges against On, but prosecutors declined, citing his age, the minimal injuries suffered by his victim and his lack of a criminal record, according to court documents. Still, prosecutors referred his case to Feldstein Soto for misdemeanor charges. Feldstein Soto last month charged On with battery and exhibiting a deadly weapon, records show. He is due in court in late May. On's attorney declined to comment. Last month, independent journalist Eric Levai published photos that purported to show On standing outside an Israel Defense Forces recruitment center near Tel Aviv. Levai also highlighted a TikTok post, purportedly from On, showing him in IDF fatigues. A city attorney's office spokesman didn't respond to questions about On's whereabouts. The IDF did not respond to multiple inquiries; On's attorney declined to comment on this issue. Last year, court records show, On successfully petitioned a judge to return his Israeli passport, which had been seized after his arrest. His attorney argued in court filings that On was not a flight risk. A second defendant, 31-year-old Matthew Katz, was charged with battery, false imprisonment and resisting arrest related to conduct near UCLA on April 30, 2024, records show. Attorney Sabrina Darwish denied the allegations against Katz, whom she described as a 'peaceful participant' who was demonstrating in support of Palestinians. Darwish said in an email to The Times that the charges 'lack both legal merit and evidentiary support.' 'Mr. Katz is the only protester charged from the pro-Palestinian encampment, which resulted in over 200 arrests last year,' Darwish said. 'The decision to prosecute appears to be an overreach influenced more by public pressure than by the rule of law.' Pro-Palestinian demonstrators say Feldstein Soto has failed to hold the group that attacked the UCLA encampment accountable. A lawsuit filed in March against UCLA and police agencies identified an additional 20 individuals allegedly responsible for violence. 'There's overwhelming evidence of over four hours of assaults and batteries on these kids,' said one UCLA encampment demonstrator, who asked to be identified only as 'Huey,' for fear of reprisals. 'The city sat back and watched as these people were brutally attacked.' One person accused of attacking the encampment was charged with felonies by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office last year. Prosecutors accused Malachi Marlanlibrett of assault with a deadly weapon and battery with a hate crime enhancement, according to court records. A district attorney's office spokesman declined to comment on the reason prosecutors pursued a hate crime. Marlanlibrett's attorney didn't respond to an email seeking comment. Another man, Noel Padilla, was charged with resisting arrest and battery, records show. Both men are due back in court this week. It was not clear which side of the clash Padilla was on. Natalin Daldalian, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County public defender's office, said Padilla had been granted pretrial diversion but declined to comment further. Indignation has followed Feldstein Soto's claim that charges had to be dismissed in hundreds of other cases because of campus officials' 'failure or inability to assist in identification.' The head of the union that represents the UCLA Police Department officers assailed Feldstein Soto's assertion as 'flat out false' and accused her of refusing to charge for 'political reasons.' The union official, UC Officer Wade Stern, noted that campus police presented similar evidence against protesters at UC Irvine last year, which prompted Orange County prosecutors to file dozens of misdemeanor charges for failure to disperse. UC Regent Jay Sures, who said he was briefed on the information police presented to the city, accused Feldstein Soto of ignoring evidence that clearly identified people suspected of wrongdoing. 'She issued a blanket dismissal,' Sures said. He called the decision a 'travesty of justice' that sends a 'terrible message to her law enforcement partners.' Spokesman Ivor Pine said the city attorney's office 'received full cooperation from UCPD based on the information available to them and to us, and we did not mean to suggest otherwise.' Further explaining the dropped charges, Pine said, cases were presented 'without sufficient information to establish the elements of a crime as to any individual.' Judea Pearl, an Israeli American UCLA computer professor and vocal supporter of Israel, said the decision not to charge 'tells students that there are no consequences to these actions that broke the law and university rules, that they can just do them again.' 'It will embolden them,' Pearl said. For years, the city attorney's office has rarely, if ever, charged protesters with failing to disperse or other nonviolent offenses related to constitutionally protected demonstrations. Such was the case with most arrests that followed President Trump's first electoral victory in 2016, the 2020 police murder of George Floyd and raucous celebrations after the Dodgers' 2020 World Series victory. But last year, Feldstein Soto took a more aggressive stance, filing obstruction charges against 31 Jewish demonstrators who blocked a portion of the 110 Freeway while calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Attorney Colleen Flynn, who represents those demonstrators, called the cases a 'glaring exception' to the standard charging policy and showed bias against 'people who are protesting for Palestine.' The city attorney also drew concerns from LAPD officials last year when she personally lobbied for the arrest of a prominent leftist activist she alleged was involved in vandalizing the Brentwood home of the president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Detectives said video evidence did not definitively show the activist, Ricci Sergienko of People's City Council, committing a crime, records show. The organizers of last year's campus protests have said their goals were to convince university leaders to divest endowments of connections to weapons companies aiding Israel's war efforts. The encampments featured many Jewish members but also faced criticism from Jewish communities, which said they were antisemitic and demonized Israel. More than 52,000 Gazans have been killed during Israel's military campaign, according to Hamas' Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostage in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel that triggered the latest conflict. At a moment when the Trump administration has targeted pro-Palestinian demonstrators on college campuses, some celebrated Feldstein Soto's decision not to charge in all but two of the cases as a victory for the 1st Amendment. Most of those detained last year were simply exercising their right to protest, Amelia Jones, a professor and vice dean of faculty and research at USC's Roski School of Art and Design, wrote in a statement to The Times. 'As a supporter of the students and someone who attended the entirely peaceful protests almost every day, I am thrilled to see this issue resolved, and freedom of speech ratified,' Jones said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
