Los Angeles LGBTQ Center Targeted With Bags of Dog Feces
Mi SELA, an LGBTQ youth center in Bell, California, has faced repeated vandalism that advocates link to a climate of hate fueled by the Trump administration.
An LGBTQ resource center in Los Angeles has been repeatedly targeted by an unknown vandal tossing bags of dog feces, many of which land on the building’s front entrance ledge.
The center, Mi SELA — a partnership between the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the Latino Equality Alliance, now approaching its second anniversary — said the vandalism began in recent months.
“This senseless harassment is abhorrent and unacceptable,” the Latino Equality Alliance said in a statement. “In 2025, it is shocking that young people and community organizations continue to face such targeted hate and intimidation.”
Mi SELA urged community members to speak out against the attacks on LGBTQ youth, which have left staff scrambling to clean up the vandal’s mess.
“It smelled really bad yesterday,” said Sanya Lojero, Mi SELA’s program manager, in an interview with Los Angeles NBC affiliate KNBC. “It was not a pretty sight whatsoever. I had to get up on the ladder and go take [the bags of dog feces] down.”
She said staff have tried to identify the culprit by reviewing surveillance footage, but each time they repositioned the cameras, the person appeared to find a way to avoid being filmed.
The organization contacted police, but was told that law enforcement cannot act until the perpetrators are caught in the act. The City of Bell Police Department is urging anyone with information about the incidents to contact them at 323-585-1245.
Adolfo Varas, executive director of the Bell Chamber of Commerce and a member of the LGBTQ community, condemned the vandalism on Instagram, calling it both “an act of disrespect” and “an unequivocal manifestation of hate.”
Lojero, the program manager, suggested the center may be targeted because it serves the LGBTQ community, particularly LGBTQ youth. Advocates say the vandalism also reflects a broader climate of hostility, fueled by conservative rhetoric and amplified by the Trump administration’s claims that LGBTQ groups are “grooming” children.
“I just worry — what if it escalates in the future?” Lojero told KNBC. “We have clients coming in each day, and I don’t want them to feel like they’re going to be harassed just for coming to the center or anything.”
But Lojero said the vandal’s hate-filled actions have only strengthened employees’ resolve to continue serving the community.
“We are not going anywhere,” she said.
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