Effort to Bar Farrakhan Likely to Fail, Mayor Told

Any effort to bar a scheduled August appearance by Black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan at the city-owned Convention Center is likely to fail in the courts because of First Amendment guarantees of free speech, according to Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn.

Hahn’s opinion, issued Monday, apparently paves the way for the Nation of Islam leader--whose controversial anti-Semitic views have drawn the ire of many--to speak here, city officials said Tuesday.

Mayor Tom Bradley had sought the city attorney’s opinion last week in an attempt to block Farrakhan’s appearance after it was learned that a subsidiary of the Chicago-based Nation of Islam, “Respect for Life,” had booked the center for Aug. 8 and that Farrakhan was scheduled to speak there.

Respect for Life markets the Black Muslim’s line of cosmetics and health products.

Denounced by Bradley

Saying that Muslim officials may have misled the city about the true nature of the booking, Bradley denounced Farrakhan at a news conference last week, saying that “statements of racial bigotry, racial hatred or religious hatred of any kind are unwelcome in the city of Los Angeles.”

The mayor asked Hahn’s office to determine whether that apparent misrepresentation was sufficient grounds to break the contract signed by Respect for Life.

But Hahn said in a written opinion that the failure to disclose Farrakhan’s appearance did not appear to be a valid reason to cancel the booking.

“Based on the facts presented and the trend of applicable law, if the license agreement were canceled for content or speech-related reasons, in all likelihood the courts would not sustain the validity of such a cancellation,” the opinion said.

The opinion surprised few in City Hall, since Hahn himself said last week that Farrakhan’s free-speech rights might make the contemplated cancellation difficult to achieve.

Will Abide by Opinion

Bradley’s news secretary, Ali Webb, said Tuesday that the mayor would have no immediate comment on the opinion.

But she added: “We asked for an opinion and we got one. There is no other option . . . we’ll abide by it.”

The mayor’s latest approach to Farrakhan’s upcoming appearance was in sharp contrast to the way Bradley handled an engagement by the Muslim leader in 1985. Then, the mayor, despite the urging of his staff and local Jewish leaders, chose to remain silent until after Farrakhan spoke at the Forum in Inglewood.

In the Forum speech, Farrakhan called Israel a “wicked hypocrisy” and said that Jews “stole” Israel under then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion instead of waiting for their predicted coming of the Messiah.

Local Jewish leaders, who were highly critical of Bradley’s handling of Farrakhan’s 1985 appearance, Tuesday praised the mayor despite the city attorney’s opinion.

“What’s important is that the mayor, the City Council and other responsible leadership denounced Louis Farrakhan and his views . . . (they’ve) done it firmly,” said Howard Miller, chairman of the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles.

Farrakhan Condemned

Meanwhile, the City Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed resolutions on Tuesday that condemned Farrakhan and his upcoming appearance here.

The supervisors approved a motion by Supervisor Mike Antonovich that called Farrakhan a messenger of “anti-Semitism and racism” and urged other public officials to “express their outrage over Farrakhan’s visit.”

The City Council unanimously passed its resolution, despite speeches by several citizens, who said Farrakhan’s free-speech rights must not be abridged.

Black Muslim spokesman Abdul Wali Muhammad said the city attorney’s opinion was “evident to us before he handed it down.”

He said details of Farrakhan’s appearance Aug. 8 will be detailed at a news conference this morning at the University Hilton.