Thread by @ScottHech

I want to share a personal story. About a colleague. Turned friend. A true organizer, advocate, leader, innovator for Justice. Grounded. Committed. She’s now terrified. And getting death threats. For advocating effectively. This story has implications for us all. Please read on.

Last year, I moved with my family to Los Angeles from Brooklyn where I lived & worked for nearly 20 years. Half that time as a public defender. Everyone told me I needed to meet Nika. They described her as “brilliant” & “thoughtful’” A “real one.” “Committed.” “Unafraid.” We met.

During our first meeting, we talked about everything. So many intersections. Horrific conditions in LA’s Men’s Central Jail. Overburdened public defenders. Lack of transparency in justice data. Need for basic income. How justice reporting amplifies dehumanizing language & tropes.

By the time we met she had already successfully completed the Compton Pledge guaranteed income program. Nika delivered $7.7 million to 800 low-income families using a custom payments and cash transfer administration platform. This was real impact. time.com/6097523/compto…

I remember I got fake mad at Nika bc the ideas were coming so fast & in the middle she asked me whether I wanted to get coffee & then got up for a second a few minutes later and figured she went to the bathroom, but went & bought me coffee & us some snacks to share. Total sneak!

At the time she was working on starting up the Fund for Guaranteed Income (now launched at @fund4gi). Building off success in Compton, they’ve launched a fourth pilot in Sonoma. It’s hard to overstate how important this work is. f4gi.org/pilot/pilot-pa…

I remember being embarrassed I didn’t know more about the movement for guaranteed income. Leaders in the movement for racial justice have long advocated for it to disrupt unfair state systems. And it wasn’t some crazy pie-in-sky idea. It was happening. Nika was doing it.

It wasn’t just innovating direct support to families & communities in need tho. Nika told me then about her idea to leverage tech to offer free & private text reminders for court dates. Predicted a 25% decrease in missed court & warrants. It just launched: courtreminders.org

A brief interlude to mention that Nika seems super knowledgeable about all things. At first it was a bit disarming. But then I realized she didn’t actually, wasn’t afraid to ask tons of questions, & *always* deferred to other local leaders on strategy. A true collaborator.

But Nika is fierce. And committed. She knows what’s right. And when she sees something wrong, she has this inextinguishable desire to make it right. To figure it out. She’s uncompromising, yet totally pragmatic. I think it’s why she’s seen as such a threat to power.

I remember when the personal attacks started coming. Not just from anybody. Coming from THE *Los Angeles County Sheriff.* Alex Villanueva. The leader of the department filled w actual murderous, lawless gangs. It was a sign she was doing something right. newyorker.com/magazine/2022/…

See, the LA County Sheriff is scared of Nika. Police, prosecutors, & jailers—like white supremacists—are used to comfort in power. The last decade has been the first time they’ve started to lose a little. And Nika is someone who wins. Shifts opinions. With ideas, grit & savvy.

Police lie, they cheat, steal, & kill. That’s even when they’re *not under threat.

Then Nika came up w/ a plan to reallocate a portion of West Hollywood Sheriff’s budget already spent on mental health & homelessness. Reallocated instead to social services.

This was a threat.

I was excited that Nika was leading the fight for budget responsibility & health & safety. If anyone could win—strategically, collaboratively, thoughtfully—it was her.

But the LA County Sheriff's department violently attacks its opponents. I was concerned for her. Here's why:

It's more than just employing & defending murderous Sheriff's Deputy Gangs. After they kill, the LA Sheriff's Department surveils & harasses the families who have had loved ones murdered by the sheriff. ACLU Report:  aclusocal.org/en/press-relea…

It's not like LA County Sheriff just employs murderous cop gang members & keeps them at arms length. LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva's chief of staff admitted to being a tattooed member of the LASD deputy gang "Grim Reapers."

https://twitter.com/PplsCityCouncil/status/1542935858667347968

It got even more overt recently. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department *raided a Civilian Oversight Commissioner's home* after the Oversight Committee started holding hearings about the Deputy Gangs. This is serious, violent, authoritarian stuff: 

https://twitter.com/KateCagle/status/1570096528173461504

Read back above. Despite very real dangers of challenging the LA County Sheriff, Nika kept her head down & worked to reallocate money from the Sheriff's budget. It was a modest proposal. It took relentless organizing. And it unfolded fast. Like I said, Nika doesn’t fuck around.

As momentum started building to reallocate just a small drop of money in a historically bloated Sheriff’s budget, the fear-mongering over crime ramped up. Then it focused on Nika. Not on her ideas. On her. Here's LA County own Sheriff attacking her: “Woke privilege on steroids.”

There’s something else about Nika. Her father is exceptionally wealthy. Among other things, he recently became owner of the LA Times. You’d never know it based on how she works. How she shows up. Hustles. For everything. Breaks all preconceptions. The Sheriff’s campaign manager:

Despite the attacks, Nika won. Defunded the police. Well, not even close. But she led the historic @JusticeLANow campaign to reallocate $2 million from Sheriff to unarmed security ambassadors in West Hollywood. That's when things got uglier. latimes.com/california/sto…

Just last week—Politico published one of the most obscene, unserious, fraught hit pieces I’ve ever seen. Forget what Nika's accomplished. Forget who she is. Here’s how they described Nika: “The 29-year-old daughter of Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong.” It’s despicable.

The "Dark Tale" primarily focused on a single Tweet Nika wrote critical of a piece of sensational journalism by the LA Times as her campaign for budget responsibility in West Hollywood gained steam. Here’s a thread of some of the other nonsense allegations:

https://twitter.com/equalityAlec/status/1575165858728378375?s=20&t=107G2wFjRWqrCN8Bpo0g-w

All of the “scandals” Politico “exposed” are exceptionally unscandalous. I can also tell you how—though I sent commentaries from allies to her & asked for help pitching stories—Nika *always just gave me contacts of appropriate people to call. Nothing ever published unfortunately.

Let me repeat, despite what was well within ethical constraints, Nika was categorically unwilling to come even close to crossing any legitimate editorial or newsroom lines.

What's disturbing is Politico's attack on a local activist for rightfully criticizing harmful journalism, while the emboldened LA County Sheriff, not only attacks political opponents, but runs campaign ads against the LA Times. Like this one: "FUCK your endorsement"

Politico blew an air of legitimacy into LA County Sheriff’s pathetic campaign to delegitimize & sideline a fierce proponent of truth & opponent of the violent, wasteful status quo they represent. It also stoked rightwing hate. The attacks have gotten even scarier.

Since the Politico hit piece, Ted Cruz unleashed his millions of right wing followers onto Nika. Calling her "disturbing."

The author of the Politico piece -- Daniel Lippman -- was on radio w/ a virulent right winger who claimed "lives will be destroyed" bc of Nika. Called her a "cancer" to the city. Then suggested people find her address.

Then some guy named Matt Belinsky wrote a thread on Twitter ranging from absurd to bullying. It went viral. Then QANON conspiracists started accusing her dad of murdering Kobe Bryant. Then the death threats started coming. It's gotten strange and scary.

I’m sad for my friend. No one is immune to feeling insecure. We all have our demons. Our feelings of imposter syndrome. I can imagine these attacks against her credibility, character, & *right* to do the work she does everyday for Justice, are killing her inside.

I’m worried for my friend. LA County Sherrif’s Department is violent & lawless. Trump supporters are violent & lawless. Q Anon conspiracists & cult members are unwell at best. I want her to be safe. To feel secure.

I’m worried about the movement. There are some critical fights right now: the long planned closure of Men’s Central Jail, fighting to bring back bail reform judges just ended w/ no input, data transparency. All things that need Nika’s leadership. Dont want her to lose her spirit.

In the meantime, Nika is expanding the Community Love Fund w/ National Council (@NationalCouncil). Her org is already administering the first guaranteed income program for currently incarcerated people. Support it: f4gi.org/pilot/communit…

Thanks for reading this. Call out hateful bullies like LA County Sheriff, Politico & reporter Daniel Lippman. It’s not okay. It authoritarian. Volent. Dangerous. It’s undemocratic. Wrong. All based in lies. Thank you Nika for being a good buddy & colleague. Let’s keep scheming.

Oh and here's Nika responding to the hate -- in typical fashion -- by lifting up the incredible Black and brown reporters in the LA Times newsroom who deserve credit for doing good work, instead of the unfounded suggestions Nika somehow controls them.

https://twitter.com/nikasoonshiong/status/1574920298721251328?s=46&t=3fTPyN3vFyx9uoF7rza9bg

Here's an incredible thing just shared w/ me. National poll outside of West Hollywood asked people whether they supported the type of program now being deployed there thanks to Nika. Not surprisingly, w/o fearmongering, OVERWHELMING bipartisan support.safercitiesresearch.com/the-latest/new…