On Monday, a jury in Los Angeles County awarded $1.5 million to a prosecutor who had filed a retaliation lawsuit against far-left District Attorney George Gascon (D-Calif.), alleging that she was punished by the DA for speaking out against his policies.
According to Fox News, Shawn Randolph claimed in her lawsuit against Gascon that the DA transferred her out of his office’s juvenile division and into the parole division after she spoke out against his soft-on-crime policies, a move that effectively amounted to a demotion.
Randolph’s primary criticisms against Gascon focused on his efforts to reduce charges against underaged criminals, even those who are accused of committing violent crimes.
John Lewin, a former employee of Gascon’s who worked in the Major Crimes Division before being similarly demoted, called Randolph a “hero” and further attacked Gascon.
“When George Gascon tried to implement policies that are not only illegal, but which have resulted in the deaths and victimization of an untold number of innocent citizens, Shawn risked her career and her reputation to do what was right,” said Lewin in a statement. “George Gascon is derelict in his responsibility as District Attorney, and is a scourge to the community at large. This is the beginning of the end for him! His horrible reign of terror will not last past the next election!!”
Randolph’s lawsuit is one of many that Gascon faces from former employees who have similarly accused him of retaliating against them for simply criticizing his policies.
“George Gascón said he didn’t need any experience being a prosecutor because the DA is only a manager,” said John Hatami, another of Gascon’s employees. “Well George, you are a horrible DA and an even worse manager. You have cost the taxpayers millions of dollars with 17 total lawsuits against you. You called DDA’s ‘internal terrorists,’ ‘unfit,’ ‘delusional,’ and ‘hyper partisan.’”
Hatami further claims that Gascon’s policies and methods have created a hostile work environment that forces prosecutors to “commit unethical and illegal actions in court,” and that his policies have “excluded public safety and victims’ rights for political gain.”
Following the jury’s decision, Gascon’s office issued a statement declaring that they were “disappointed by the jury’s verdict, and stand by our decision to reassign this and other attorneys to new positions within the office.”
“As any manager will tell you,” the statement continued, “moving around personnel in order to improve the level of representation this community receives is absolutely critical to a functioning office. We will consider our options over the next several days.”
Gascon, who was backed in his election by far-left billionaire George Soros, has faced numerous recall attempts since taking office. The third and most recent effort garnered over 700,000 signatures, but was ultimately blocked from appearing on the 2022 ballot after the Los Angeles County Registrar controversially removed nearly 200,000 names, claiming without evidence that the names were “invalid.”