Essayli’s office charges 28 in Skid Row tent drug takedown
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced federal charges against 28 people accused of dealing fentanyl, methamphetamine, PCP and other drugs on Skid Row, some from tents that prosecutors say were used not as housing but as drug storefronts. Agents arrested 23 of them Thursday.
The Homeland Security Task Force operation searched 20 residences, most of them outside Skid Row, along with several tents inside it, seizing firearms, drugs, bulk cash and luxury vehicles. It mirrors earlier takedowns this year at MacArthur Park, where prosecutors have arrested 24 people.
Many of the accused dealers didn’t live on Skid Row at all, according to the complaints. Rodney Thomas, 55, allegedly lived in a downtown high-rise and drove luxury cars, including a white Bentley, to his tent at Fifth and Crocker streets. Another defendant, Michael Taylor, 39, allegedly disguised himself as homeless and paid local transients in drugs to act as lookouts.
“Today’s operation targeted drug traffickers who prey on some of the most vulnerable members of the community. They targeted the homeless in Skid Row, kept them addicted on drugs like PCP, and took their public assistance money for payment,” said Essayli.
Essayli said defendants face mandatory prison sentences and promised more arrests. The FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Los Angeles Police Department took part in the operation.
“They bet on our apathy. Today, that bet failed,” said David Olesky, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles field division.
Torres bill aims to close gap in WIC enrollment
U.S. Rep. Norma Torres (D-Pomona, San Bernardino County) introduced legislation this week to make it easier for mothers and young children to enroll in and stay on WIC, the federal nutrition program for women, infants and children.
WIC provides healthy food, breastfeeding support and nutrition education from pregnancy until a child turns 5. It served 6.9 million people a month nationwide in fiscal 2025, including nearly 25,000 mothers and children in Torres’ district. But more than 4 in 10 eligible people don’t participate, and enrollment is lowest among pregnant women and children ages 1 to 4.
The Improving Access to WIC Act would authorize $50 million from fiscal 2027 through 2031 for grants to states, tribes and territories that opt in. They could use the money to build referral systems between doctors and WIC offices, share health data with patients’ consent to cut duplicate appointments, set up online applications and enroll families already on Medi-Cal or CalFresh who qualify for WIC but haven’t signed up.
“WIC provides critical nutrition assistance to moms, babies, and young children, and getting enrolled should not mean jumping through unnecessary hoops,” said Torres.
The bill would also require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to publicly report on the program’s results, including its effect on enrollment and retention.
Kamlager-Dove presses State Department on Brazil ambassador’s visa
U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Culver City, Crenshaw, Leimert Park, Baldwin Hills, West Adams, Mid-City), co-chair of the Congressional Brazil Caucus, and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) led 10 members of Congress in demanding answers from the State Department over its decision to revoke the diplomatic visa of Brazilian Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti.
The lawmakers’ letter calls the move an unnecessary escalation that threatens relations with a major democracy and trading partner. It also criticizes what it calls the Trump administration’s effort to influence Brazil’s 2026 elections, citing State Department officials’ meetings with former President Jair Bolsonaro, sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, and statements questioning the integrity of Brazil’s elections.
“This unnecessary escalation is the latest of a series of actions that has driven a rupture in our relationship with the largest democracy and economy in South America,” wrote the lawmakers.
“Congress therefore has an obligation to understand why the Department of State departed from established practices and took the extraordinary step to revoke the Brazilian Ambassador’s visa,” they wrote.
