Feds storm Skid Row in massive drug takedown dubbed Operation Free Skid Row

Dozens of FBI agents backed by the DEA, the LAPD and other federal agencies swept through Los Angeles before dawn on Thursday, hitting the homes of suspected drug dealers and then rolling into Skid Row itself in a midmorning raid that netted street pushers.

Twenty three suspected dealers of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and PCP were arrested. Agents seized drugs, guns and luxury cars, and found dealers hiding their trade behind disguises, storefront fronts and sidewalk tents. An FBI convoy hit a home in Pasadena with flash bangs before sunrise; by midmorning the operation had moved into the tents and alleys of Skid Row, where a gun was found in one tent.

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, announced the operation, dubbed Operation Free Skid Row, as the opening move of a longer campaign. "We're going after the dealers who prey on the homeless. This is just the first salvo," he said.

Mayor Karen Bass appeared alongside the announcement and used the moment to slam mayoral candidate Nithya Raman over a since deleted campaign video that branded police officers "fascist," calling it irresponsible for someone seeking the city's top job.

Skid Row, a roughly 50 block area east of downtown Los Angeles, has long been one of the country's most visible open air drug markets, with thousands of homeless people living in tents within blocks of the dealers who supply them. Thursday's operation follows a string of federal drug crackdowns across the city this year, including the MacArthur Park takedown in the spring.