Los Angeles Times - 06.08.2019

B4 TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019 LATIMES.COM

cates and education offi-

cials.

After the meeting, when

questioned by reporters,

Newsom said the nation

needs strong gun laws to

help prevent more deadly at-

tacks, and he criticized U.S.

Senate Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for

blocking gun-control legis-

lation. “Mitch McConnell is a

coward. He’s abdicated

leadership,” Newsom said.

“Do your job, put it up for a

vote.”

SACRAMENTO — Gov.

Gavin Newsom on Monday

proposed expanding a state

task force to combat violent

extremism following the

three mass shootings that

left at least 34 people dead in

Texas, Ohio and California

over the last week.

The commission, created

after the Sept. 11 terrorist at-

tacks in 2001, would seek

ways to reduce the threat of

similar violent attacks and

increase safety at schools

and major public events.

“The questions we are all

being presented with is,

what the hell do we do to

meet this moment with re-

solve?” Newsom said during

a meeting with law enforce-

ment officials, state leaders

and civil rights advocates.

The task force will in-

clude representatives from

law enforcement, public

health officials, university

experts, civil rights advo-

Newsom proposes expansion of

state’s anti-extremism task force

By Phil Willon

especially with my daugh-

ter.”

Carrillo of Hawthorne

said the shooting at a Wal-

mart in El Paso made her

think twice before entering

the store. Lester L., 69, how-

ever, was undeterred.

“What’s going to happen

is going to happen,” said

Lester, who declined to give

his last name.

The Compton resident

said that the country must

work toward a solution to

end gun violence. Until then,

people can’t let fear stop

them from going about their

day.

The longtime customer

didn’t think President

Trump’s rhetoric is tamper-

ing the problem.

“The way Trump is talk-

ing ain’t helping,” he said.

“We’ve got work to do.”

That work means ex-

tending restrictions beyond

genuinely military-style

weapons with ammunition

feeds, Downing said.

“We need to control am-

munition distribution and

make policy changes,” he

said.

Downing said he is organ-

izing a security conference

on Sept. 11 in New York and

the agenda is changing.

“How to identify the domes-

tic terror threat in America”

is a central question.

Many large organiza-

tions, companies and op-

erators of gathering places

are making constant threat

assessments based on social

media monitoring and cy-

berspace activity, Downing

said, pointing to the 2017

bombing at an Ariana

Grande concert in England.

“Could red flags have

been seen?” he said.

Downing said event or-

ganizers are conducting so-

cial media monitoring by ge-

ography on those at or near

concerts and sporting

events. There has also been

a shift in thinking after the

Sept. 11 and Columbine High

School attacks that empha-

sizes a proactive model of

prevention that in part relies

on the eyes and ears of the

public and intelligence.

“Dayton and El Paso

shows you cannot rest on

your laurels,” he said.

But how is that type of

is more that officials can do

to detect red flags on social

media, a subject that has

raised privacy concerns.

Michael Downing, former

deputy chief of the Los Ange-

les police counter-terrorism

bureau and current chief se-

curity officer for the Oak

View Group/Prevent Advis-

ors, said that lone shooters

typically choose soft targets

without traditional security

apparatus. And the focus of

security is now about being

“first preventers rather than

first responders.”

But Downing said such

efforts to detect and prevent

assailants can go only so far

as a wide culture shift on

guns and ammunition is

needed.

“There are always things

you can do to protect a tar-

get further — well-trained

staff, counter-surveillance

and other things to identify a

potential threat on social

media,” Downing said. “Be-

ing a lone wolf or lone rat

makes these shooters ex-

tremely hard to detect. You

can look at analytics that

identifies likely suspects.

But it is a question of poli-

tics.”

Security experts say re-

stricting weapons, ammuni-

tion and putting aside pri-

vacy concerns may be the

most crucial prevention tac-

tic to such attacks, and that

may make those on the right

and left of the political spec-

trum unhappy.

But all the preventive

know-how can only do so

much.

“I think we are fed up with

hearing about thoughts and

prayers when we have shoot-

ers like in Ohio with 100-

round weapons,” he said.

Monique Carrillo, 29, is all

too aware that a mass shoot-

ing could happen without

warning. When she entered

the Walmart in Torrance on

Monday morning, she

thought about places where

she and her baby daughter

could hide in the event of

such an occurrence.

“I did think about where

the exits were when I got into

the store and tried to be

aware of my surroundings,”

she said.

“I have to be aware now,

threat predicted?

Downing said the Los An-

geles Police Department

threat assessment and men-

tal health evaluations regu-

larly track potentially

threatening individuals by

sending out mental health

professionals to assess peo-

ple and ensure they don’t

have the means.

Finding lone wolf terror-

ists domestically is nearly

impossible, said Charles

“Sid” Heal, a former Los An-

geles County sheriff ’s com-

mander who has been in-

volved in counter-terrorism

efforts locally and overseas.

“These individuals are

the ones we fear as terror-

ists. The lone wolves act on

their own, they don’t make

contact with others. They

make all their plans in their

head. All the programs in

the world don’t detect these

people,” he said. “A decade

or more ago, the FBI identi-

fied them as among the most

serious threats.”

L.A. County Sheriff Alex

Villanueva said his depart-

ment is “constantly evaluat-

ing” potential threats. The

challenge, he said, is obvious

soft targets.

Villanueva said his depu-

ties know they may have

to act alone if an attack oc-

curs.

“That is a tough call,” he

said. “It takes a lot of guts to

do that, but we expect the

deputy to do that.”

The sheriff said people

need to be prepared to es-

cape in a situation. “We have

lost some of our innocence,”

he said.

Heal said cyberspace is

one of the few places investi-

gators can search for such

potential assailants as they

tend to seek out like-minded

people in the dark holes of

8Chan and other online

communities.

“While we can monitor

the very public areas of dis-

cussion on social media, we

cannot delve into the more

personal communications

because of privacy con-

cerns,” he said.

But counter-terrorism

investigators are increas-

ingly in conflict with privacy

advocates.

“Facial recognition and

license plate readers are

often the only options for

tracking a potential sus-

pect,” Heal said. “San Fran-

cisco’s recent decision to for-

bid facial recognition tech-

nology has left a gap that

means a threat may not be

as easily tracked.”

Mass shooters were able

to evade gun and ammuni-

tion measures set in place in

the states they lived in, he

added.

“I am not sure you can

keep guns out of these peo-

ple’s hands. We couldn’t

keep the rifle away from the

gunman in Gilroy,” Heal

said. “People like this indi-

vidual are going to get their

guns.”

While the talk is about ri-

fles, he said, the reality is

that “68% of these attacks

occur with handguns.”

Although the threat of

the unseen remains, many

refuse to be overtaken by

fear.

Laura B., 50, was at the

Walmart in Torrance when

the shooting occurred miles

away in Texas. She shopped

alongside families picking

up back-to-school supplies,

like many of those who died

in El Paso.

She didn’t learn about

the attack until she got

home later. When she re-

turned the next day to ex-

change an item, the store

was packed.

“That was a little scary,”

said Laura, who declined to

give her last name. But she

stayed put, as many others

did.

A Walmart representa-

tive was not available to

comment on whether the

Southern California store

had increased security. And

additional precautions, if

any, were not obviously vis-

ible to shoppers Monday.

One store employee no-

ticed a dip in foot traffic Sun-

day morning. She believed

that the El Paso shooting

may have been the cause.

But by Sunday afternoon,

the store appeared to be at

normal capacity.

RECENT shootings have revived discussion about what officials can do to detect red flags on social media. Above, mourners in El Paso.

John LocherAssociated Press

Heightened tensions after attacks

[Shootings,from B1]

“This is a career death
penalty case,” Paul S. Meyer,
Johnson’s lawyer, told the
court.
Johnson, flanked by his
lawyers at a table with his
wife seated a few feet behind,
followed the arguments and
testimony closely and often
took notes.
Meyer portrayed John-
son as an effusive, friendly
man whose actions 20 years
ago were being viewed
through the lens of the #Me-
Too era.
“Today is very different”
from a decade ago, Meyer
said. “If you go to a social
event today, you don’t hug.”
He told the court that the
allegations against Johnson
stemmed from a few women
who spread “vile” rumors.
Chaney, Meyer said, is
known to engage in sala-
cious gossip that puts “her
at the center of attention”
and considers herself “very
attractive and appreciates
the attention.”
Emma Bradford, a law-
yer for the judicial watchdog
agency, told the court that
she would show Johnson has
sexually harassed women
throughout his career, prey-
ing on court staff, externs,
research attorneys and pri-
vate lawyers.
The state’s first witness,
Roberta Burnette, a private
lawyer, testified that she met
Johnson at the Jonathan
Club in 2015 at a dinner spon-
sored by the Assn. of Busi-
ness Trial Lawyers.
While they were seated
alone at a table toward the
end of the night, “he said to
me, you know you are very
voluptuous,” she testified.
She tried to brush off the re-
mark and changed the sub-
ject.
As their conversation
continued, he eventually
asked her to perform one
sexual act on him, then an-
other, she testified.
She testified that she fled
the table, found her then-
boyfriend, now her husband,
and told him, “Get me out of
here right now.” She said she
told him that night about
Johnson’s remarks.
She did not report his be-
havior to the state Judicial
Council or the Commission
on Judicial Performance,
she testified, because she
feared Johnson might retali-
ate against her or her law
firm if they had a case before
him.
Her husband, Gregg Elli-
ott, testified that Burnette
told him of Johnson’s re-
marks that night.
Another witness, Price
Kent, also a private lawyer,
testified about her interac-
tions with Johnson 10 years
ago when she worked as an
associate at a law firm
shortly after graduating
from law school.
She said Johnson told the
firm he could direct clients
its way, and the firm invited
him to social events.
Johnson repeatedly in-
vited her to visit his cham-
bers, she testified, and once
put his hand on her knee
under a table and moved
it upward during a firm din-
ner.
“His palm was on my leg
and slid up,” she testified,
saying it was “absolutely
not” an accident. She testi-
fied that she believed John-
son was inebriated at the
time, and she said she
emailed her partners about
the incident the following
day.
The partners told her
they would speak to John-
son about it, she said. Later
they told her Johnson was
very apologetic. She said the
partners continued to invite
Johnson to firm events.
Darnice Benton, a janitor
for the Court of Appeal, tes-
tified she saw Johnson walk-
ing “topsy turvy” near the
court late at night and as-
sumed he was intoxicated.
Rodney Pettie, another
custodian for the court, tes-
tified that he had noticed
Johnson apparently intoxi-
cated about four times at
night and periodically found
a couple of beer bottles in his
chambers.
Johnson’s lawyer con-
tends the justice suffers
from diabetes, and when his
sugar level drops, he exhibits
symptoms that mirror those
of intoxication.
The three-judge tribunal
will make a report of findings
of fact and law after the hear-
ing ends, and the Commis-
sion on Judicial Perform-
ance will decide whether to
discipline Johnson. Johnson
can appeal the commission’s
decision to the California
Supreme Court.

Judge’s

accusers

testify

[Justice,from B1]

ESCONDIDO, Calif. —

After months of speculation,

former San Diego City Coun-

cilman Carl DeMaio made it

official: He’s going to chal-

lenge Republican Rep. Dun-

can Hunter in 2020.

DeMaio, also Republi-

can, announced Monday

that he will run for the con-

gressional seat held by

Hunter, the embattled six-

term incumbent represent-

ing California’s 50th District,

an area that includes east-

ern and northeastern San

Diego County.

At his news conference in

Escondido, DeMaio was

flanked by about 40 support-

ers.

“I will use the congres-

sional seat to shine a light on

corruption and inefficiency

in government,” DeMaio

said. “I will use my stature as

a member of Congress to

raise resources nationally

and across our state so we

can fight unnecessary and

costly tax hikes and advance

reform.”

In an apparent reference

to the possibility that Hunt-

er could leave Congress

amid ongoing legal troubles,

DeMaio said a special elec-

tion could be held before the

end of the year.

Hunter is scheduled to go

on trial Sept. 10 on 60 crimi-

nal counts, including

charges that he used

$250,000 in campaign funds

for family bills, vacations, al-

leged affairs and other per-

sonal expenses. Hunter has

pleaded not guilty, and his

defense team says the ex-

penses were for legitimate

political purposes.

Hunter’s wife, Margaret,

was originally indicted

alongside her husband and

pleaded not guilty. On June

13, Margaret Hunter

changed her plea to guilty on

a single count of conspiracy

that named Duncan Hunter

as her co-conspirator.

“For too long the 50th

District has not been repre-

sented by someone who can

effectively advocate for them

without being distracted by

scandal,” DeMaio said in a

statement, “but that is

about to change as I will take

a far more proactive and

hands-on approach to tack-

ling the issues facing our

neighborhoods whether

they are federal, state or lo-

cal.”

A spokesman for Hunter

did not respond to a request

for comment.

DeMaio, a conservative

radio host, is the fourth Re-

publican to enter the race for

Hunter’s seat.

Even with his profile,

DeMaio is expected to face

an uphill battle.

Since leaving San Diego

City Council in 2012, DeMaio

has come up short in other

bids for elected office, in-

cluding a mayoral run in 2012

and a campaign in 2014 chal-

lenging Rep. Scott Peters

(D-San Diego).

DeMaio said at the news

conference that leaving his

radio show will be hard, but

he feels confident he can

continue the conversation

using other platforms.

Clark and Cook write for the

San Diego Union-Tribune.

Conservative radio host to challenge Rep. Hunter

By Charles T. Clark

and Morgan Cook