long shot presidential candidate Cornel West announced his choice of running mate on Wednesday, naming Melina Abdullah, a professor and co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter, who has an extensive political career.
Here are five things you should know about Abdullah that he’s unlikely to say publicly on the campaign trail.
1. She was kicked out of the Los Angeles mayoral debate:
Police were forced to pull Mr. Abdullah from the 2022 Mayoral Debate on the campus of California State University, LA.
Abdullah was protesting the fact that only about 50 people were allowed to watch the debate inside the campus auditorium, and students and faculty were also prohibited from entering.
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Abdul, who was a professor at California State University, Los Angeles at the time, clarified that police only removed her from the premises and did not arrest her.
“I could have watched the mayoral debate being held on my campus. Rafe Sonnenschein, who I had known since graduate school and claimed to be a friend, called the police and told me that he had coerced and brutalized me. Abdullah said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times, referring to one of the co-hosts of the debate.
“I’m just trying to sort out that I was hurting, screaming for help, and called Karen Bass and Kevin De Leon… They’ve been very close for over 20 years, but they never said anything. , I didn’t say a word.” “Please put her down.” Neither did the other candidates. It’s hurtful and outrageous,” she added.
2. She sued the national BLM organization and lost.
Abdul-Allah is a co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter, but that doesn’t mean she always got along well with other members of the organization.
Abdullah is a co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter, but that doesn’t mean she always gets along with other members of the organization.
In 2022, Abdullah sued Shalomir Bowers, an executive at the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. She alleged that Bowers used the organization as a “personal piggy bank” and used nonprofit funds to pay more than $10 million to his consulting firm.
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“The assets that we have built, our financial resources, our social media platforms, and the name ‘Black Lives Matter’ have been taken away from us and are now in the hands of consultants,” Abdullah said at a press conference at the time.
BLMGNF’s board denied the allegations in a long statement before the hearing of the case.
“Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) is here to shine a light and fight for Black liberation,” the statement reads in part. “Make no mistake: Melina Abdullah and BLM Grassroots (BLMGR)’s claims are false. They are defamatory and devoid of reality.”
Abdullah’s case was ultimately dismissed and he was ordered to pay Bowers more than $100,000 in attorney fees.
3. She’s a big fan of notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan.
Abdullah has repeatedly and emphatically praised Minister Louis Farrakhan throughout his years of anti-American and anti-Semitic controversies.
A quick review of Abdullah’s personal account on X, dating back almost a decade to 2015, shows her praising and quoting Nation of Islam leaders over the years.
“Humbled, overwhelmed, and deeply grateful to share two spaces with @louisfarrakhan #JusticeOrElse,” she wrote in June 2015, along with a photo of the minister.
Her assessment of Farrakhan has remained consistent in the years since, and she defended him on social media in 2019.
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“We should all be outraged by the minister’s ouster.” @LouisFarrakhan From Instagram and Facebook. Loving black people and demanding our freedom and self-determination does not constitute “black supremacy.” There can be no ‘black supremacy’ in a country built on our backs,” she wrote at the time.
4. She wants to defund the police.
Abdullah, a founding member of the BLM chapter in Los Angeles, predictably has a low opinion of police.
“Now is the time to defund the police and reimagine public safety,” Abdullah told PBS in a 2022 interview.
Abdullah pushed for sweeping reforms to Los Angeles’ police force in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests, and actively opposed a proposed increase to Los Angeles’ police budget in 2023.
Last August, after the city passed a $384 million increase in its police budget, Abdullah told KCRW that “an overwhelming majority of Angelenos are moving away from police and parking enforcement and actually protecting the safety of their communities.” “I want to invest in things,” he said.
She went on to argue that police pay increases are “out of step with what the public wants” and suggested that politicians fear retaliation from the city’s police union.
5. She was a victim of “swatting” in 2020:
Abdullah was the victim of at least one “slashing” incident in 2020. (Irrfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
of Los Angeles In August 2020, as the George Floyd protests intensified, police dispatched officers to Abdullah’s home after receiving a hoax call.
The Los Angeles Police Department said they received a report that three hostages were being held inside Abdullah’s home. His fake 911 calls are known as “swatting,” a serious crime that has become widespread in recent years.
“After officers were able to ensure the safety of the residents, an investigation at the scene determined that the call was a hoax,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement at the time.
However, Abdullah rejected the police explanation, claiming in the video that the police were “trying to kick me out of the competition”.
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“Dozens of police, LAPD and others showed up at my house this morning with guns and assault rifles and really scared me and my kids. We’re going to be okay,” Abdullah said at the time. .
“I never believe a word from the police,” she continued. “Neither should you.”
Fox News’ Evie Fordham contributed to this report
