Meet the DSA-Backed Judges Trying to Remake Los Angeles' Justice System

The Democratic Socialists of America are not merely trying to influence Los Angeles politics. They have taken over its justice system.

Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor at City Journal, posted a video on social media detailing the DSA’s systematic effort to reshape the LA justice system. The effort operates largely through nonprofit groups such as La Defensa, which has spent millions of dollars electing progressive, DSA-aligned judges. 

The examples Rufo highlighted are concerning enough. One judge reportedly said his goal is to free as many Black men as humanly possible. Another embraces indigenous healing circles and meditative sound baths as instruments of justice. And the movement’s ambitions do not stop in Los Angeles: its supporters have openly stated that they intend to transform the justice system all the way up to the Supreme Court.

EXCLUSIVE: The DSA is taking over the court system in Los Angeles. The movement has elected a judge who wants to liberate black criminals from the "slave ship," and another who wants to use the courtroom for "healing circles" and "sound baths." We expose them all. https://t.co/FjuuxPvSjy

— Christopher Rufo (@christopherrufo) October 14, 2026

"The DSA is taking over the court system in Los Angeles County. We've spent months following the money from billionaire donors, to the progressive non-profit La Defensa, to the DSA judges who want to deconstruct the entire justice system," Rufo said. 

"This is Judge George Turner Jr. who says the courts are a tool for slavery and that his job is to free as many black criminals as possible," he said.

"And this is Judge Holly Hancock, who says she wants to bring criminals and victims together to do indigenous healing circles and meditative sound baths."

"Turner and Hancock were backed by the DSA non-profit La Defensa, which has spent nearly a million dollars electing DSA judges," Rufo said. "La Defensa's two biggest donors are Patti Quillen, wife of Netflix founder Reed Hastings, and Liz Simons, heiress to the Renaissance Technologies fortune. These women are radical chic fanatics who are unleashing crime in poor neighborhoods while they live in mansions."

"And for them, LA is just the beginning. La Defensa says it wants to deconstruct everything."

Los Angeles has long been plagued by progressive politics, and it may be about to get worse. DSA-backed mayoral candidate Nythia Raman currently leads incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, herself already a progressive, in the race. 

But the justice system is arguably the backbone of an ordered society. It is supposed to serve as the last line of defense, ensuring that justice is applied broadly and consistently. When that system becomes tainted, even good politicians are not enough: an activist judiciary can undermine them at every step. 

Thankfully, La Defensa has not yet proven formidable. The group managed to elect only three of the seven judges it backed in the 2022 to 2024 election cycle, spending a total of around one million dollars. But as Los Angeles continues its leftward drift, it is only a matter of time before the group’s effectiveness rises with it.

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