Nithya Raman posted a video to Instagram calling on incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell "fascist liars" and told voters she'd replace them. Then she deleted it. The Democratic Socialist councilwoman from LA's District 4 is running for mayor of Los Angeles, and the top cop she'd be in charge of just went on camera and made clear exactly how that would go.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell didn't send a statement through a spokesperson.
"It's very disappointing to me that we have to deal with that," McDonnell said. "In the second-largest city in America, we expect more than that." He was responding to Raman's attacks on his department — attacks that came after officers faced commercial-grade fireworks during the June 6, 2025, downtown Los Angeles riots. "They were being assaulted by commercial-grade fireworks, which can kill you. Those can be lethal," McDonnell said. "We were in a position where we had no choice but to defend ourselves, and we always try and use the least amount of force possible."
Raman's explanation for the deleted video was that "fascist liars" referred to ICE officers, not to Mayor Karen Bass or Chief McDonnell. The distinction doesn't help as much as she thinks it does. Calling federal law enforcement officers "fascist liars" while running to lead a city that depends on cooperation with federal agencies is a specific kind of political suicide note.
Raman has made her position clear. "I don't believe that Chief McDonnell has met this moment, and I will make sure that we are appointing a police chief who can really respond to the needs that immigrant Angelenos have and that every resident of Los Angeles has," she told supporters. Translation: she'd fire him and install someone who treats immigration enforcement as the enemy.
McDonnell's officers took concrete and commercial-grade fireworks to the body during the June 2025 unrest. They held the line in a city whose political class spent the previous five years telling them they were the problem. Now a candidate who calls law enforcement "fascist liars" wants to be their boss and promises to replace the chief on day one. The platform isn't subtle.
Raman deleted the video. The quote didn't delete.