LOS ANGELES (AP) — The first black woman to lead the largest local prosecutor’s office in the U.S. apologized for her husband pointing a gun at Black Lives Matter demonstrators who came to their Los Angeles home before dawn Monday.
In an emotional press conference, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said she and her husband, David, were awakened and frightened. She said he ran downstairs, where she heard him talking to someone, and that when he came back, he said there were protesters.
She said he told her: “I pulled my gun, and I asked them to leave.”
It came a day before a primary election in which Lacey is seeking a third term. She has clashed repeatedly with Black Lives Matter protesters, who say she is too protective of law enforcement and doesn’t prosecute officers who fatally shoot suspects.
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.”
Of her husband, Lacey said, “His response was in fear, and now that he realizes what happened, he wanted me to say to the protesters, the person that he showed the gun to, that he was sorry, that he was profoundly sorry.” She said she also was sorry.
The district attorney said she has received death threats and has been followed, photographed and confronted repeatedly. She said she expects people to exercise their First Amendment rights, “but our home is our sanctuary.”
“I do not believe it is fair or right for protesters to show up at the homes of people who dedicate their lives to public service,” Lacey said.
She said she has offered to meet with Black Lives Matter one on one or in a small gathering but the group has rejected those options.
“It seems like what they like is to embarrass me and intimidate me,” Lacey said.
Abdullah, the organizer, told KTTV that protesters rang Lacey’s doorbell to meet with her.
“Her husband met us at the door with a gun,” Abdullah told the television station. “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.”
Los Angeles police were called to a home around 5:40 a.m. about roughly 50 protesters outside, 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 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.”
Lacey, a two-term incumbent, is facing George Gascon, the former San Francisco district attorney, and former public defender Rachel Rossi. The race is nonpartisan and will be decided if one of the candidates receives more than half the votes Tuesday. If no one gets 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.”