Nithya Raman is facing backlash after a campaign video showed her calling to “stop fascist liars” alongside images of Mayor Karen Bass and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell with a red X through his face.
The Los Angeles mayoral candidate, 44, filmed the interview Sunday at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College following her “First 100 Days in Office” speech, according to her campaign. The clip featured influencer Ed Choi and was later deleted from social media after drawing fierce criticism from the police union, Bass, and rank-and-file officers.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League’s Board of Directors did not mince words about the imagery. “Nithya Raman’s social media post that circles Chief McDonnell’s face in red and then crosses out his face is no joke, in fact it is dangerous,” the union wrote in a statement to the California Post. “The violent political rhetoric that has overtaken our public discourse has in many instances led to violence.” The board continued: “Raman’s social media post can be seen as a dog whistle by unhinged individuals to go after Chief McDonnell.”
The union emphasized that both McDonnell and Bass have security details due to ongoing threats and argued Raman had “amplified those threats” while endangering the officers protecting them. “It also underscores why she has no business leading Los Angeles,” the board added.
One LAPD member told The Post that the red X effectively made the chief a target and called the video “extremely dangerous.” The officer questioned Raman’s judgment, saying that if she failed to recognize the danger of singling out the city’s police chief with that imagery, she “shouldn’t be mayor.”
Raman’s campaign pushed back hard, blaming Choi for the editing and insisting she never applied the phrase to Bass, McDonnell, or LAPD officers. “Nithya was interviewed by several social media creators on Sunday,” the campaign told The Post. “In one interview, the creator asked her to repeat his phrase, ‘only you can stop fascist liars,’ which she said in reference to ICE and the Trump administration’s violent kidnappings that continue in our city today.” The campaign added that the video was later edited to show Bass during that portion and stressed: “Nithya never used that phrase to describe Mayor Bass, Chief McDonnell, or LAPD officers, which is why we removed ourselves from the post and asked the creator to take it down immediately.”
During the interview itself, Choi explicitly tied Bass and McDonnell to fascism while questioning Raman. “Los Angeles has become extremely fascist, especially because Karen Bass appointed Jim McDonnell as the chief of police,” Choi told her. He then asked: “I wanted to know, especially for the immigrant community that’s watching, what is your plan to de-fascicize this city?”
Raman responded by criticizing LAPD’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and calling for new leadership. “I think there’s a lot that we can do to make sure our LAPD is actually protecting people instead of protecting ICE on our streets, as we saw happen,” she said. “I think that starts with a culture shift from the very top and new leadership in the department,” She added: “I don’t believe that Chief McDonnell has met this moment. And I will make sure that we are appointing a police chief who can really respond to the needs that immigrant Angelenos have and that every resident of Los Angeles has.”
The video concluded with Choi and Raman repeating in unison: “Only you can stop fascist liars.”
Bass blasted the video Tuesday, calling the rhetoric “dangerous and extreme.” “Labeling them [police] ‘fascists,’ when officers put on the uniform every day to keep us safe — is crossing the line,” Bass said. “It has no place in this city — let alone from someone trying to become mayor.”
The controversy erupted the same day The Post reported that Raman spent roughly three hours at a staff happy hour at The Black Cat in Silver Lake on June 6, as federal immigration raids and protests swept Los Angeles. Photos showed Raman raising a drink with team members after appearing at an anti-ICE protest earlier that day, where she was photographed holding a sign. Her campaign said she spent about 90 minutes at the protest before the staff gathering.
Raman has made the city’s response to those raids a centerpiece of her campaign against Bass, despite having voted to confirm McDonnell after Bass nominated him as chief in 2024. She has pledged to fire McDonnell if elected.
The video was preserved by multiple groups after its deletion.