A major drug raid on Los Angeles’ Skid Row has triggered a public clash between a City Council member and the region’s top federal prosecutor.
Dozens of FBI agents and law enforcement officers moved into the downtown neighborhood Thursday as part of a broad operation targeting the sale of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and PCP.
The California Post witnessed investigators seize drugs, firearms, cash and luxury vehicles while making dozens of arrests. The investigation also shed light on the alleged methods dealers used to conceal their operations, including disguises, retail storefronts and sidewalk tents.
But Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, whose District 14 includes Skid Row, condemned the operation. She said homeless residents were blocked from returning to their tents to collect belongings, medication and other essential items.
“Law enforcement has described the operation in Skid Row as targeting drug trafficking. But that doesn’t remove the responsibility to protect residents’ rights and well-being,” Jurado wrote on social media.
“Residents have reported being kept from returning to their tents, obtaining their belongings, accessing essential medication, and reaching the services they depend on every day to survive.”
Jurado said Skid Row is home to one of Los Angeles’ largest concentrations of “seniors, people with disabilities, and Black residents.” She argued that people living there should receive the same treatment as residents of any other neighborhood in the city.
“But we’ve continued to treat it as the afterthought of our policies,” the councilmember wrote. “Living in a neighborhood that society wrote off does not make you a criminal.”
“It does not make you unworthy of city services, mental health, and representation from your government.”
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She added that people experiencing homelessness in Skid Row deserve “protection from exploitation and violence,” along with “dignity and accountability from the institutions responsible for their safety.”
The 50-block district is home to about 6,000 homeless people and has faced years of open-air drug sales and violent crime.
Known as “Operation Free Skid Row,” Thursday’s crackdown brought together several agencies, including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Los Angeles Police Department. Authorities said 28 alleged dealers were charged with federal drug offenses, while investigators executed more than 40 search warrants.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, the area’s top federal prosecutor, sharply rejected Jurado’s criticism.
Essayli accused Jurado and the nonprofit Los Angeles Community Action Network, or LACAN, of worsening conditions in Skid Row by opposing police and federal enforcement efforts.
“They are fiercely anti-law enforcement and focus their efforts on protecting criminals who exploit the homeless. Under their watch, gangs and thugs run Skid Row, supplying the worst drugs imaginable, stealing money, and raping or killing anyone in their way,” Essayli wrote Friday.
“Rather than working with LAPD to arrest drug dealers, LACAN advocates handing out millions of dollars’ worth of needles and crack pipes while harassing officers.”
Essayli defended the raid, saying investigators secured court approval for the searches and conducted the operation professionally.
“We are proud of yesterday’s operation that charged 28 people with federal drug dealing and served more than 40 search warrants (all done professionally with judicial authorization). If the councilwoman disliked yesterday’s actions, she will be very displeased in the months ahead,” Essayli added.
