The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has evicted a group of activists who illegally occupied vacant homes.

(Photo : David McNew/Getty Images)
Activists Protest Police Shooting Of Homeless Man LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 7: Protesters march through Skid Row during a rally against a fatal police shooting of an unarmed homeless man on March 7, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. Widely-seen smart phone video shows 43-year-old Charley Leundeu Keunang wrestling with several police officers at his sidewalk tent on Skid Row until being shot to death by officers on March 1. Police say that he tried to grab a gun belonging to one of the officers.

The evening before Thanksgiving, CHP officers broke into vacant state-owned homes in a Los Angeles neighborhood and forcefully removed people there. Reports said around 20 families that occupied 20 houses in El Sereno have been affected.

Community activists condemned the eviction of families. Videos on social media show activists protest in the background while officers dragged people out of the neighborhood's houses. 

Other clips revealed the law enforcement in full tactical gear used battering rams to enter some of the houses. Two officers dragged a child out of a home, based on a video posted by the Street Watch LA. 

According to Newsweek, the group Reclaiming Our Homes, composed of homeless activists, began occupying the Caltrans-owned homes in March. They demanded a safe place to stay for evicted people amid the COVID-19 pandemic as cases surge in the area.

The group called out California Governor Gavin Newsom to order the California Department of Transportation or Caltrans to build houses for families in need of shelter. The coronavirus pandemic continues to affect the community. 

In El Sereno, there are 1,857 confirmed COVID-19 cases, as per the County of Los Angeles Public Health.

In a press conference, activists Claudia Lara and Janil Hernandez said that there had been intimidation and their communities have a long history of brutality and murders at the hands of the police.

They asked Governor Newsom to intervene and ask the law enforcement to avoid violence and let the people have a shelter. Lara added that it is irresponsible and inhumane for the state to hoard 170 homes.

"At the request of the California Department of Transportation, the CHP has removed trespassers on state property," the CHP spokesperson told Newsweek. The spokesperson did not specify how many were arrested. 

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Some of the homes occupied by homeless activists were purchased by the Caltrans to demolish the houses for an expansion of the 710 freeway, but that stalled in 2018 after decades of controversy.

The Reclaim and Rebuild Our Community group said on a GoFundMe page that occupants consist of families, ranging in age as young as three months and older than 70 years old, who had been living in homeless encampments and cars.

About 100 CHP officers had assembled to remove the occupants. Several officers pushed back demonstrators that gathered as the confrontations escalated, according to ABC7.

The houses were boarded on Thursday with signs that said: "TRESPASSING, LOITERING FORBIDDEN BY LAW."

Sandra Martin, who lives in the community for 24 years, said she understands the activists, their eagerness to have a roof on top of their heads, but the eviction got out of control.

There were no exact details on how many people were evicted overnight or how many activists were arrested. 

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