U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) told a large crowd of homeless Americans to “go home” after they became irritated. The crowd was upset after a misunderstanding over Section 8 housing vouchers. Waters later threatened a local journalist and told them not to report on the story.
The incident took place on March 25, not far from a homeless encampment in Los Angeles. According to a report from investigative reporter Connor Sheets of the LA Times, hundreds of homeless people showed up after being led to believe they would receive Section 8 housing vouchers at the event.
The event, which was organized by Fathers and Mothers Who Care, was aimed at finding emergency shelter for citizens without homes. The confusion reportedly overwhelmed the non-profit as well as Los Angeles Housing Services Authority (LAHSA) workers who told the unexpected arrivals that they would only be able to provide their information and enter an emergency housing database.
Waters was then surrounded by a large group of agitated and confused group of homeless people. She eventually told the crowd to “go home”, prompting an angry response. “We ain’t got no home, that’s why we’re here” a woman in the crowd could be heard saying in response. Bewildered, Maxine Waters then told the homeless crowd that nobody in Washington was fighting for them harder than she is and that she “didn’t want to hear” any negative remarks.
“Excuse me, there’s nobody in Washington who works for their people any fu***** harder than I do,” Waters said. “I don’t want to hear this. No, no, no.”
Here's the video of Maxine Waters telling a group of homeless people to "go home" to which somebody replies "we ain't got no home." pic.twitter.com/wHMHkBlvtt
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 31, 2022
When contacted by the LA Times Tuesday, Waters requested the story not be published. “You’ll hurt yourself and the community trying to put this together without background,” she told Sheets, according to the report. “I don’t want you to start trying to write it, you won’t understand it.”