They Threw Out Our Case and Sent Us the Bill
Yesterday, a judge who couldn't be bothered to actually read our case threw out a multi‑million dollar lawsuit to protect the LACC Swap Meet and then had the nerve to hit us with a $60,000 legal bill for the City Attorney’s fees.
Read that again. The City of Los Angeles attacks the very market that supports 17,000 students and hundreds of vendors, gets our lawsuit tossed on a trumped‑up technicality, and then sends us the tab for their damage.
This is punishment, not justice. This is how City Hall tries to shut us up.
City Hall and Hugo Soto‑Martínez Are Choosing Who Gets to Survive
Let’s name names. Los Angeles City Hall. The City Attorney’s Office. Councilmember Hugo Soto‑Martínez.
They are not neutral. They are not confused. They are making a choice.
They are choosing to side with street vendors operating right outside the swap meet who pay no swap meet fees, follow none of the rules we’re forced to follow, and set up in clear conflict with existing city ordinances.
At the same time, they are hammering the vendors inside the market who follow the rules, pay rent, carry insurance, and help fund education for thousands of LACC students.
That’s not equity. That’s sabotage.
17,000 Students and Hundreds of Vendors Thrown Under the Bus
This isn’t just about one organizer or one lawsuit. This is about 17,000 students whose funding is tied to the life of this swap meet. It’s about hundreds of vendors whose livelihoods depend on this market existing and staying accessible to the community that actually lives here.
City Hall wants to pretend this is a small dispute. It’s not. When you destabilize the LACC Swap Meet, you undercut real income for working families and strip resources from students who already have to fight for every dollar.
Instead of defending a community marketplace that’s been here the whole time, they are paving the way for exactly what we’ve been warning about: a gentrified, high‑end, “hipster” flea market that prices out the people who built this place.
They are not protecting culture. They are clearing us out.
This Is on Hugo Soto‑Martínez
Let’s be very clear: this is Hugo Soto‑Martínez’s doing.
He has chosen to champion street vending outside our gates, including vendors operating in violation of city ordinance, while ignoring the vendors inside the LACC Swap Meet who actually follow every rule the city throws at us.
He has chosen to ignore the impact on 17,000 students tied to this market.
He has chosen to sit back while the City Attorney and the court system crush the one lawsuit that was trying to hold the city accountable—and then bury us under $60,000 in legal fees.
If you are a vendor, a shopper, a student, or a neighbor who cares about this market, you need to understand this: Hugo Soto‑Martínez is not on our side.
Enough. We’re Done Fighting Alone.
One person cannot carry this fight alone while City Hall weaponizes the courts and our own tax dollars against us.
We are done being polite. We are done waiting. We are done watching our market be strangled while politicians talk about “supporting small business” in front of cameras and then attack us behind closed doors.
Tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. at Los Angeles City Hall, we are taking this fight directly to them. No more silence. No more backroom deals. No more pretending this is anything but an attack on our community.
What Needs to Happen Now
Show up at City Hall tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. Stand with the LACC Swap Meet community. Be seen. Be loud.
RSVP and plug in at lccswap.com. Click RSVP at the top. Get updates. Get organized.
Tell City Hall and the City Attorney’s Office to stop attacking the LACC Swap Meet and stop using court fees as a weapon against our community.
Demand that Hugo Soto‑Martínez reverse course and publicly support the LACC Swap Meet, its vendors, and the 17,000 students whose funding is on the line—or step aside.
Do NOT vote for Hugo Soto‑Martínez on Tuesday if he continues to ignore the vendors inside the market and the students we support.
We are not asking for charity. We are demanding respect, protection, and basic fairness for a market that has fed families, funded students, and held this community together for years.
City Hall, the City Attorney, and Hugo Soto‑Martínez have made their move. Now it’s our turn.
See you at City Hall. 9:30 a.m. Tomorrow. Bring your voice.