Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) triggered an angry response after she reportedly told homeless people to “go home.”
According to The Los Angeles Times, Waters attempted to keep a news story from being published about the Los Angeles homeless crisis.
She reportedly told a Los Angeles Times reporter, “You’ll hurt yourself and the community trying to put this together.”
Investigative reporter Connor Sheets wrote about an incident that occurred on March 25 in South Los Angeles. Social media rumors misled hundreds of homeless people causing them to try and obtain Section 8 housing vouchers, as the Times reported.
Joyce Burnett, a disabled homeless woman, claimed Waters “was here, and she said to come back Tuesday with our paperwork filled out.”
She continued, “I have it, everything they asked for. But every time we get near the front of the line, they shut the door. They opened the door about 20 minutes ago and said they’re not servicing anyone else today.”
Waters later reportedly told a gathering of mostly homeless people, “I want everybody to go home.”
According to the Times, one member from the crowd shouted, “We don’t got no home, that’s why we’re here. What home we gonna go to?”
Waters proceeded to laugh and said, “Nothing is going to happen here today.”
Growing frustrated with a question from the founder of Kingdom Warriors Foundation, the lawmaker added, “Excuse me, there’s nobody in Washington who works for their people any f— harder than I do. I don’t want to hear this. No, no, no.”
ABC 7 Los Angeles reporter Ashley Mackey posted a video of the gathering on Twitter, with the caption, “100s of people were misinformed [and] lined up thinking housing vouchers were being handed out today. Congresswoman Maxine Waters noticed the crowd and stopped by to give them the real information about the emergency housing vouchers and help out.”
100s of people were misinformed & lined up thinking housing vouchers were being handed out today. Congresswoman Maxine Waters noticed the crowd and stopped by to give them the real information about the emergency housing vouchers and help out. @RepMaxineWaters @MaxineWaters @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/LYEs5Fq8gO
— Ashley Mackey (@abc7ashley) March 25, 2022
The Times reported Waters declined to answer specific questions about the events. Instead, she said that “it’s a bunch of rumors.”
Requesting that the story not be published, Waters added, “I don’t want you to start trying to write it, you won’t understand it.”
