Los Angeles, Ca
California bill to curb 'hate littering' signed into law
A bill to crack down on “hate littering” across California was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday.
Assembly Bill 3024, which was introduced by Asm. Chris Ward (D-San Diego), expands state civil rights protections against the dissemination of materials like flyers or pamphlets contain threatening speech with the intention of intimidating members of a protected class.
Also known as “hate littering,” this practice has become an increasing issue for neighborhoods throughout the Golden State, mirroring a wider nationwide surge in hate crimes based on race, religion or sexual orientation.
With the newly signed law, those targeted by hate littering will be able to seek civil damages from the individual behind the distribution of those materials. These protections go into effect immediately.
“The act of hate littering goes beyond what is intended in our First Amendment protections,” Ward said in a statement on Newsom’s signing of AB 3024.
“When hate groups are deliberately going into Jewish communities to leave anti-Semitic flyers on the doorsteps, vehicles and personal property of their victims to try to intimidate and harass them where they live, that’s not free speech,” Ward continued. “That’s attempting to turn neighbor against neighbor, and it makes the people these flyers are targeting afraid to be themselves and live their lives in their own neighborhood.”
AB 3024 builds off a landmark civil rights law in California, the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976. This law made it illegal to threaten or enact violence against an individual because of their actual or perceived characteristics like race, religion or sexual orientation.
The law was a direct response to intimidation tactics largely linked to white nationalist hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, such as the burning or desecration of a cross outside someone’s home with the intent of threatening its owner.
Proponents of the AB 3024 argued it would make necessary updates to strengthen the protections laid out under California’s civil rights law by incorporating modern day hate-based groups’ strategies.
Critics, on the other hand, expressed concern the measure could lead to overly broad limitations of speech given the often anonymous nature of the practice.
About 20 people were detained Saturday during a large police response in Los Angeles’ Koreatown after authorities received reports of an armed man threatening people, officials said. Officers responded to the 3400 block of West 8th Street near Kingsley Drive on reports of an assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Los Angeles Police […]
A former Riverside County man was found guilty of sex trafficking a female victim and forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts along L.A.’s notorious Figueroa Corridor.
Elias Abdul Shabazz, 34, formerly of Perris, was found guilty by a jury following a five-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Shabazz had led the victim to believe they were in a romantic relationship before he turned physically and sexually violent. He began demanding that the victim engage in commercial sex acts from May to October of 2021, court documents said.
He carried a handgun with him and, on occasion, was accused of using it to pistol-whip the victim. He also fired the gun at her feet while threatening to kill her, prosecutors said.
At trial, the victim said Shabazz demanded that she meet a daily quota of commercial sex proceeds and that she was terrified of the consequences of not meeting that quota.
She testified that Shabazz compelled her to work in the notorious Figueroa Corridor in South L.A., a dangerous area known for human trafficking and prostitution.
Shabazz had confiscated her identification card, Social Security card and birth certificate. He constantly monitored her cell phone to stop her from communicating with any friends or family.
“He also introduced her to addictive narcotics and controlled every aspect of her life, including when she ate, slept and showered,” prosecutors said.
In May 2025, Shabazz was arrested and has remained in federal custody. His last known address at the time was in Washington, D.C.
On June 26, 2026, Shabazz was found guilty of one count of coercing or enticing interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6, where he faces 15 years to life in prison.
“Sex trafficking matters rank among the most tragic cases our office prosecutes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant will now face many years in a federal prison cell for his sick, disgusting, and disturbing behavior.”
“Elias Shabazz preyed on a vulnerable victim using physical and sexual violence and cruel psychological coercion to compel commercial sex acts for his own profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “There is no place for this type of conduct in civilized society. We deeply respect the victim’s courage to face her trafficker in court. The Criminal Division will continue to bring these cases and try them.”
Anyone with information about human trafficking can report tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888
The star-studded feel-good giveback event of the summer has returned. KTLA 5 is teaming up once again with Project Angel Food for the annual “Lead with Love: Going the Distance” telethon to raise critical funds for medically tailored meals delivered to people living with serious illnesses throughout Los Angeles County. The seventh annual telethon airs […]
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