Incumbent Democratic Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón lost his re-election bid against former U.S. Attorney Nathan Hochman, an independent candidate.

Basic prosecutorswhose union opposed Gascón’s candidacy and is involved in court battles with him, welcome their new boss as a return to normality after a tumultuous four years that saw a rise in violent crime, top-down directives controversial lawsuits and about two dozen whistleblower retaliation lawsuits. against the outgoing district attorney.

Gascón’s disputed tenure saw him overcome two impeachment attempts, but he was unable to defeat the challenge from Hochman, a former deputy US attorney general with decades of legal experience.

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District Attorney candidate Nathan Hochman speaks alongside actress Esmé Bianco during a press conference to criticize Los Angeles County Prosecutor George Gascón for his handling of his allegations against singer Marilyn Manson on October 10, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“Crime is illegal again,” said Shea Sanna, a deputy district attorney who sued Gascón for alleged retaliation and who worked on one of the cases that marked one of Gascón’s most criticized mistakes: the prosecution of the convicted murderer and abuser. juvenile. James “Hannah” Tubbs.

Gascón treated Tubbs like a minor when Tubbs was 26 and had already served time in an adult prison, where he has since returned after pleading guilty to killing a friend for more than $100.

After Sanna protested treating Tubbs leniently, he says, he was demoted, mistreated and harassed, according to a retaliation lawsuit.

“We have a new district attorney who will focus on fighting crime instead of fighting his own prosecutors,” Sanna told Fox News Digital. “Hochman’s goal will be to protect law-abiding citizens, not murderers and rapists.”

PROSECUTOR SAYS CHIEF GASCON SENT COPS TO INTIMIDATE HER AT HOME AFTER BLOWING THE WHISTLE ON A MEMO ON SOFT CRIME

Deputy District Attorney Shea Sanna, right, at a hearing in Antelope Valley Juvenile Court in California on Jan. 27, 2022. James “Hannah” Tubbs, top left, began identifying as female after learning that his arrest for sexually abusing a girl in Los Angeles would be prosecuted in juvenile court when he was 26 years old. He was sent to a men’s prison for an unrelated homicide. (Dave Buchan, LASD, Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“It’s time for district attorneys to get back to the job they were elected to do: follow and enforce the laws, prosecute crimes, support victims, and do the right thing regardless of political affiliation,” he said. Jonathan Hatamia deputy prosecutor who ran for Gascón’s seat, came up short in the primary election and supported Hochman.

“Gascón’s defeat, his demolition, had absolutely nothing to do with politics,” he told Fox News Digital. “It had everything to do with the fact that he refused to do the job of district attorney. For Angelenos, this was not a national issue. It was personal. We all deserve public safety, especially from our district attorney.”

Gascón lost. His fellow far-left district attorney in Alameda County, pamela pricewas successfully removed. And California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36, a criminal justice referendum that undid the unpopular soft-on-crime policies that Gascón and Price supported in the previously passed Proposition 47.

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Voters on Tuesday rejected Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón after years of opposition to what critics call leftist and soft anti-government policies. crime. (Pamela Price/Instagram)

“After four years of being test subjects in a perverted social experiment, Los Angeles County residents have clearly learned the hard way that their vote for district attorney matters more than any other decision on their ballot,” said Jason Lustig , another deputy district attorney. suing gascón for alleged retaliation.

“I am confident that Nathan Hochman will restore balance, fairness and organization to an institution to which I and hundreds of my colleagues have dedicated our professional lives.”

“Gascón’s social experiment is over. Voters have overwhelmingly rejected George Gascón and his soft-on-crime policies.”

— Shea Sanna, Deputy District Attorney

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Hatami, Sanna and Lustig are among about two dozen Los Angeles prosecutors who have taken their outgoing boss to court, with allegations including retaliation, discrimination and that his chain of command gave potentially illegal instructions to prosecutors.

Gascón’s own main advisors have found themselves in another court, the criminal court, and not on the side that prosecutors normally are on.

The state attorney general’s office formally charged Gascón’s No. 3, Diana Terán, with serious crimes for her alleged misuse of confidential law enforcement data. His No. 2 lieutenant, Joseph Iniguez, appeared on body camera video arguing in handcuffs after police stopped her fiancé on suspicion of drunk driving following a wedding in 2021.

Joseph Iniguez, left, and George Gascón speak at an event calling for prison reforms on November 9, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Patrisse Cullors)

“Gascón’s reign of terror over Los Angeles extended far beyond the prosecutors in his office,” said Tatiana Chahoian, another deputy prosecutor with a retaliation lawsuit. “Los Angeles County residents not only kicked him out, they simultaneously passed Proposition 36, which increases penalties for certain crimes. They made their voices heard loud and clear: They’ve had enough.”

NATHAN HOCHMAN DISPLACES LIBERAL ATTORNEY GEORGE GASCÓN AS LA COUNTY DA AMID CRIME CONCERNS

While he welcomed the change in leadership, he said his case, and others like it, would move forward.

“It has permanently damaged careers, forced early retirements and ruined office morale and culture,” he told Fox News Digital. “It’s going to take a long time to fix that. Culture doesn’t change overnight.”

Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Tatiana Chahoian found herself in hot water after an interview with FOX 11 Los Angeles in which she denounced a memo about how to prosecute street racing and street “takeover” cases in the county. (FOX 11 Los Angeles)

Hochman, a lifelong Los Angeles resident who previously served as chairman of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, accused Gascón of “catastrophic incompetence” on the campaign trail and vowed to restore order and common sense. .

Gascón is a Cuban expatriate whose family fled communism in 1967, according to his campaign site. After dropping out of high school, he joined the military and then the Los Angeles Police Department. He became police chief in Mesa, Arizona and San Francisco.

He then succeeded Kamala Harris as San Francisco district attorney when she became California attorney general.

He served two terms there developing his left-wing policies before winning election in Los Angeles in 2020. Critics have often noted that he never handled a case in court during the trial.

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“Gascón, your reign over Los Angeles has finally ended,” Hatami said. “Please don’t run for public office again.”