Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters warned a reporter not to share footage of her exchange where she told a group of homeless people to “go home.”
Los Angeles Times investigative reporter Connor Sheets reported an incident Wednesday where homeless people confronted Waters at an event amid confusion in obtaining Section 8 housing vouchers. The event was held by the advocacy group Fathers and Mothers Who Care.
The group told the attendees they would only be able to provide information and enter an emergency housing database, the outlet reported.
“I want everybody to go home,” Waters told the crowd.
“We ain’t got no home! That’s why we’re here,” one person exclaimed.
“Where the hell we going to go to?” someone said. (RELATED: ‘Turn Off Aunty Maxine’: Trey Gowdy Says Maxine Waters Has A History Of Saying ‘Crazy As Hell Things’)
Water said “nothing” would happen that day and vowed to meet with the Los Angeles Housing Service Authority (LAHSA) to assist them. One person complained that Waters’ office had denied meeting requests to discuss housing issues.
“There’s nobody in Washington that works for the people any fucking harder than I do!” Waters snapped. “I don’t want to hear it.”
A person in the crowd pleaded for Waters to work with her to house people, to which the representative replied she assists people in need of housing everyday. She again told the people to “go home” and that there were no new vouchers.
When Sheets reached out to Waters concerning the incident, the lawmaker tried to convince him not to publish the story, the LA Times reported.
“You’ll hurt yourself and the community trying to put this together without background,” Waters warned. “I don’t want you to start trying to write it, you won’t understand it.”
A separate event was held Tuesday, where several homeless citizens stood in line for several hours to receive their vouchers, though the door remained closed throughout most of the day, the outlet reported.
Joyce Burnett, a 77-year-old disabled woman, told the Times she was denied service from LAHSA after filing all of the necessary paperwork Waters instructed her and others to fill out.
“Maxine Waters was here, and she said to come back Tuesday with our paperwork filled out,” Burnett said. “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.”
The last recorded homeless data found that 66,436 people were experiencing homelessness, a 13% increase from 2019, the outlet reported.