A Long Beach woman shown screaming insults, lobbing racial abuse and vandalizing property in a viral video was charged today with threatening her neighbors and violating their civil rights, officials said.
Lorrene Lake, 58, faces six counts of felony criminal threats and one felony count of violating civil rights following her arrest last week, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced today. She also faces hate crime allegations.
In addition, prosecutors filed misdemeanor charges against her for possession of a firearm while under a temporary restraining order, violating someone’s civil rights, disobeying a court order and resisting arrest, according to the DA. She has remained jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail since her arrest on Friday, inmate records show.
“When hate crimes occur in Los Angeles County, individuals accused of this conduct will be held accountable,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. “The victims were subjected to criminal threats motivated by hate at their own home for months.”
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At least one neighbor had been complaining about Lake’s behavior for weeks before her arrest. The neighbor sought a restraining order alleging Lake had been yelling, cursing and threatening to harm herself on June 23.
The neighbor said police soon arrived but left without making an arrest, and Lake then confronted the neighbor, pounding on the door and demanding they come outside.
“I am scared and just want my safety prioritized,” the neighbor wrote in an application for a restraining order, saying police had been called several times but still declined to arrest Lake.
Last week, hundreds of thousands of people saw video of Lake’s alleged behavior after it was posted online and circulated by high-profile accounts on Instagram and TikTok.
At one point she tells a person recording her: “What are you videotaping for? The cops aren’t going to do sh*t,” while implying the person recording should be hanged by a noose.
Late last week, another dispute with a neighbor finally did end with Lake being arrested.
Police said they took her into custody shortly after midnight Friday in the 2300 block of East Second Street, where she lives. Police said she had violated a restraining order and they also seized an inoperable firearm.
At the time, Lake was booked on suspicion of one count each of felony criminal threats, illegal possession of a firearm and a misdemeanor violation of a restraining order, according to the LBPD. Prosecutors announced the additional charges Tuesday.
Lake pleaded not guilty this afternoon at her initial court appearance.