A new report released on Monday alleges that Los Angeles Democrat Mayor Eric Garcetti routinely witnessed one of his top aides allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct and not only failed to stop it but even laughed about it during one alleged incident.
“This summer, a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department filed a lawsuit against the city,” journalist Yashar Ali reported. “Officer Matthew Garza, who had served on the security detail that protects Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, alleged that one of Garcetti’s top aides, Rick Jacobs, routinely assaulted and harassed him—and that Garcetti had witnessed the assault and harassment and did nothing to stop it, nor hold Jacobs accountable.”
“News of the lawsuit, filed July 13, was a moment that many Garcetti staffers had been dreading: when allegations of sexual misconduct by Jacobs, and the acceptance of it by the mayor—long an open secret among staff—would be exposed, putting the administration in the crosshairs of a possible investigation,” Ali continued. “The allegations laid out in Garza’s complaint sounded familiar to me because, over the course of a decade, from 2005 through 2015, Jacobs used to forcibly kiss me on the lips when I encountered him through my previous work in politics.”
Ali reported exclusively in his newsletter that Garcetti’s apparent refusal to take action against Jacobs — who is deeply intertwined in Garcetti’s dealings — could potentially open up the city of Los Angeles to significant legal liabilities.
Ali’s story was based on months of interviews with dozens of sources in and around Garcetti’s administration and those close to him. None of the sources that Ali spoke with agreed to speak on the record because they feared retribution from Garcetti and Garcetti’s wife.
Ali’s report continues:
Garza alleges in his lawsuit that from 2014 to 2019, while he was on the mayor’s security detail, Jacobs subjected him to a barrage of sexual harassment and assault. In his complaint, Garza says that Jacobs would make inappropriate comments about sex with younger men, male genitalia and how he would engage in rough sex. On multiple occasions, according to Garza, Jacobs would say in his presence: “You guys ready to f*** without KY?”
On other occasions, Garza alleges in his complaint, Jacobs would ask him to sit on his lap. Garza also says that Jacobs would forcefully hug him without consent and tell him, “You’re so strong and handsome” and “Your muscles are so tight.” He would often massage Garza’s shoulders without consent, Garza says.
Garcetti was often present for Jacobs’ harassment and assault, Garza says in his complaint, noting that “Mayor Garcetti was present on many, if not most of the occasions when Jacobs made sexually inappropriate comments, but the Mayor took no action to stop the comments from being made or even identify the comments as being inappropriate. On some occasions, the Mayor would laugh at Jacobs’ crude comments.”
Garza says that on more than a dozen occasions, Garcetti staffers apologized to him for Jacobs’ conduct.
But Garza isn’t the only one who says he has been treated this way. Two sources told me that Jacobs grabbed them without consent and forcibly kissed them at fundraisers in front of Garcetti. The mayor’s reaction? To watch and then laugh it off as he continued to greet people.
A former Garcetti aide told me that Jacobs once grabbed them and forcibly kissed them on the lips. And another source told me they were warned that Garcetti’s biggest liability was Jacobs and that the office could be sued for sexual harassment any day.
Continue reading: Exclusive: Mayor of Los Angeles Repeatedly Witnessed Top Adviser’s Alleged Sexual Misconduct
1. Exclusive: Sources tell me that LA Mayor @ericgarcetti witnessed his top advisor Rick Jacobs sexually harass and assault people over the past six years. And not only did the Mayor not do anything to stop it, he's kept Jacobs in his position. https://t.co/icvQYPOmzl
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 20, 2020