Los Angeles police have served several search warrants in an attempt to uncover the source of secretly recorded audio that has rocked City Hall, the LA Times reports.
The audio was lifted from a meeting between former Council President Nury Martinez, council members Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, and former LA Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera in 2021. Martinez was heard making a series of racist comments and berating the young Black son of her colleague, Mike Bonin.
Whoever recorded the meeting likely broke the law. All parties must consent to a recording in California. Those on the tape asked LAPD to open an investigation, and LAPD Chief Michel Moore announced a probe in October.
The LA Times reports that LAPD investigators “obtained warrants for several social media accounts” (the leak was initially uploaded to the website Reddit). Investigators would have had to show probable cause before a judge that a felony was committed.
Martinez and Herrera resigned as a direct result of fallout from the audio leak. Cedillo and de León refused to heed calls for their resignations.