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Councilman: Trutanich Wants To Silence Civil Disobedience

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Los Angeles city attorney Carmen Trutanich is coming down hard on political protesters, seeking jail time as much as up to one year behind bars for demonstrations he says costs the city big bucks.

But as KNX 1070's Bill Cooper reports, city councilman Ed Reyes says Trutanich is attacking a practice that dates all the way back to the American Revolution.

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Previous prosecutors have treated many of these cases as infractions, but Trutanich argues that the protesters he's targeting should face consequences for not having the proper permits, disrupting traffic, and costing taxpayers thousands of dollars.

Trutanich says he's only focusing on "professional" protesters who never seem to be punished for their actions.

Reyes says the city attorney needs to lighten up.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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