A peaceful Black Lives Matter protest outside of LA District Attorney Jackie Lacey's home took a turn when her husband threatened gatherers with a gun.
BLM LA co-founder and Cal State Professor Melina Abdullah has been wanting to meet with Jackie Lacey.
Lacey is running as a Democrat in this year's Los Angeles District Attorney election. She's already served two terms as DA, and during that time, more than five hundred people have been killed by police. Her office only prosecuted one of those cases.
Abdullah and thirty other BLM activists showed up to Lacey's house in the early hours of Monday, March 2nd – the day before the LA district attorney primary election.
Abdullah and the other activists wanted to sit with Lacey for a community meeting to discuss her office's continuous failure to prosecute police officers who kill civilians. Huffpost reported that while BLM protesters sat on chairs outside the home, Abdullah rang Lacey's doorbell.
Though the 5:40AM visit was unplanned, it wouldn't have been their first time meeting each other, and since the home had a Ring doorbell (which allows occupants to clearly see who is on their doorstep), Abdullah expected Lacey to recognize who she was.
That's when Jackie Lacey's husband, David Lacey, opened the door and pointed a handgun at Abdullah with his finger on the trigger.
Abdullah described to NBC News the moment she heard a gun cock on the other side of the door.
"We heard the gun cocking, and I thought I was being paranoid. But then he opened the door, leading with the gun. He saw me and lowered it, pointing it at my chest."
Abdullah filmed the incident and posted it on Twitter.
In the video, Mr. Lacey demands that Abdullah leave. When Abdullah asks if he will shoot, he responds, "I'm going to shoot you. Get off of my porch."
Mr. Lacey went back inside without incident to call the police, while the activists stayed outside and began to chant:
"Jackie Lacey must go, Jackie Lacey will go."
Police eventually arrived and escorted Jackie Lacey from the home.
Later in the day, Lacey defended her husband's actions in a press conference.
She explained the confusion of waking up to a large crowd:
"This morning my husband and I were at home asleep when we began to hear noise outside of our home. We immediately jumped out of bed and I called the police. I wasn't sure what was going on and I let them know I thought there were protesters outside of my house."
Her husband was upfront about his actions:
"My husband David and I have been married for almost 40 years and while I was upstairs he ran downstairs. I could hear him talking to somebody. He came back up later and he said, 'There are protesters outside the house and I pulled my gun and I asked them to leave.'"
Lacey explained that her husband was fearful of the protesters and apologized on his behalf:
"His response was in fear and now that he realizes what happened, he wanted for me to say to the protesters, the person he showed the gun to, that he was sorry, that he's profoundly sorry, that he meant no one any harm."
People on Twitter were appalled by David Lacey's threats against Abdullah.
Others believed that the Laceys were rightfully defending themselves.
Whichever way you look at it, what David Lacey did was illegal.
Legal expert and Justice Collaboritive senior advisor Kate Chatfield explained that Mr. Lacey's actions were considered criminal threats and assault with a firearm, and could result in felonies under California law.
Because of Lacey's position as DA, Abdullah doubts there will be consequences for the Laceys.
"She protects the police and the police protect her," she told Huffpost.
