Swastika-Clad Protester Sparks Controversy with Offensive Gestures at LAPD

A known provocateur notorious for causing disturbances at City Hall meetings made waves again on Tuesday, brandishing a large swastika during a session of the LAPD’s Police Commission. This individual, Armando Herman, disrupted proceedings by persistently making obscene gestures at officials, who were gathered to deliberate on Los Angeles’ crimefighting strategies.

Positioning himself prominently in the public gallery, Herman, aged 59 and hailing from Hacienda Heights, made his presence felt as the Board of Commissioners and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell conducted their routine meeting at the department’s Downtown LA headquarters. Herman, infamous for his inflammatory rhetoric at public assemblies, has a history of causing disturbances.

In 2023, he faced legal consequences when a restraining order was issued against him, preventing his attendance at LA Board of Supervisors meetings for three years after he sent them threatening emails. Despite this, Herman appeared undeterred at the Police Commission meeting. He repeatedly made obscene gestures toward the officials, wearing a crudely drawn black swastika around his neck and making other offensive signs while appearing restless in his seat.

The LAPD has opted not to provide any comments regarding Herman’s recent actions.

Herman’s disruptive behavior was also evident last Friday at a City Council meeting. There, he launched into a tirade, directing anti-gay slurs and expletives at the council members, calling them “stupid f—k!” His outburst led to his removal from the meeting by police officers.

On Friday, Herman attended a City Council meeting and screamed at councilmembers, hurling anti-gay slurs and yelling, “You stupid f—k!” He was eventually escorted out of the meeting by police.

“I’m a known activist. I continue to come back and advocate,” Herman told The California Post on Tuesday.

The former LA special-education teacher described the swastika as “my thunderbird,” claiming that he wears it in protest to show support for the First Amendment.

“Some people find the the language offensive. I know the line, or the threshold, of my First Amendment rights,” he said.

The weekly Police Commission meetings are frequently disrupted and sometimes shut down completely by agitators shouting officials down.

The Commission’s new president, Rasha Gerges Shields, struggled to keep the meeting orderly on Tuesday as multiple speakers took to the microphone to curse out cops during the public comment period.

“Just understand that this is a public meeting,” Shields said. “And even if we do not agree with the speech that is being said, we have to allow it. And hate speech, unfortunately.”

Herman wandered out of Tuesday’s meeting after about an hour, before the public comment portion began.

He has a track record of getting kicked out of public meetings and suing the city. He told the Post last week that he was kicked out of a neighborhood council meeting and went to court to protest his removal.

His antics last year inspired the City Council to introduce a new rule where audience members could be removed from meetings for repeatedly uttering the N-word or the C-word.

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