The lead-up to the July 18th school board meeting for Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District was anything but normal. LEXIT, a far-right group nominally advocating for Latino American Democrats to switch to the Republican Party, helped initiate an online firestorm over a proposed partnership with Planned Parenthood for a student clinic.
Agenda item number 12A proposed working alongside Planned Parenthood Los Angeles to start a school-based reproductive health clinic at John Glenn High School. According to the agreement between the school district and Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, abortions would not have been performed at this clinic. Instead, it would provide testing, treatment and medication for sexually transmitted illnesses, contraceptives, and referral services.
Anthony “Arod” Rodriguez, board member of LEXIT and friend of Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio, made a video on social media the day before the meeting— calling the health clinic plan “diabolical” and “the devil’s work.” In the video, he speaks in front of a screenshot of the agenda item webpage from the school district’s website while omitting the fact that abortions aren’t provided by the proposed clinic. LEXIT, who have a history of promoting the Proud Boys, told their supporters to rally against the agenda item at the school board meeting and to offer public comment. The Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District responded by postponing the agenda item regarding the clinic. But the far-right refused to back down. More posts sprouted up on social media calling for a rally against the clinic proposal. LEXIT distributed flyers online for the rally.
“This goes out to the school district, to Norwalk-La Mirada, we are aware of your actions and what you are doing, and we will fight to protect our children. Let this be a warning to you,” said Kenneth W. Prado, self-proclaimed President of the LEXIT Inland Empire chapter. On the official LEXIT Instagram profile, which currently has over 116,000 followers, Prado falsely declared that the clinic plan was “trying to put murder now on school campuses.”
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