Protesters block LA courthouse to stop resumption of unlawful detainer proceedings

LOS ANGELES -- Nearly 100 renters and other protesters blocked the main entrance to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles for three hours Friday morning, demanding Gov. Gavin Newsom replace the Judicial Council's eviction moratorium when it expires Sept. 1 or the Legislature pass AB 1436, which would temporarily halt evictions.

According to Elena Popp, executive director of the Eviction Defense Network, 491,000 renters in Los Angeles are at risk of eviction if the Judicial Council's April 6 emergency halt to all unlawful detainer and eviction processes is not replaced.

"If 491,000 evictions are filed starting the 2nd, the court system will be overwhelmed, the legal service providers will be overwhelmed and a tsunami of evictions will destroy our communities," Popp said following the protest.

The protesters arrived at 7 a.m. Friday, holding signs saying, "Cancel the Rents," physically blocking attorneys and people with cases from entering the building.

As landlord attorney Wayne Abb of Woodland Hills attempted to enter the courthouse, protesters surrounded him yelling, "Wayne go home! Wayne go home!" and created a human barricade, preventing him from entering.

Evictors turned away at the door. Sorry Wayne--you're not evicting tenants today! #EvictionFreeLA #CancelRent https://t.co/wERL32Dp1p pic.twitter.com/K8iwZOX28A

— elana eden (@abolishurbanism) August 21, 2020

"I was actually there representing a commercial tenant who happens to be a black, 80-year-old doctor," Abb said in a phone interview following the protest. "I think it's unacceptable that the courthouses are not open. We can't function as a civilized society and have the rule of law without our courthouses. It's important.

Security officers locked the doors until at least 10:30 a.m. when the crowd seemingly dispersed.

Protesters plan to demonstrate again in front of the courthouse beginning Sept. 2 and every day after that, Popp said, which could lead to further closures of the court.

Protesters had said they intended to block the court's entrance for the entire day, according to a statement released by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and other activist groups.

However around 10 a.m., people outside hoping to enter the court verbally clashed with protesters, some saying they had waited years to have their cases heard before the coronavirus caused court closures in May.

"Do it the right way, do it the right way," the agitated group of people waiting to get in began chanting.

Asked about that reaction to the protest, Popp said she hopes organizers opposing the resumption of unlawful detainer hearings will find a way to allow others to enter the court when protests resume Sept 2.

"The goal here is to send a clear message to the governor and the Legislature that if they won't stop evictions, we will stop evictions but we acknowledge that other business happens in the courthouse and when we saw that the sheriff was refusing to let anyone in the one entrance we were holding," she said, "we decided to march around the courthouse and call it a day."