Bass told the LA Times at the time that her eight trips to the Communist nation “were educational and had nothing to do with terrorism.”
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt has called out incumbent Mayor Karen Bass for her involvement in the 1970s with a Cuban revolutionary group that trains Americans in "terrorist tactics and guerrilla warfare."
Pratt wrote, "When I was in my 20’s I was on a TV show. When Karen Bass was in her 20’s, she was training in terrorist tactics and guerrilla warfare with communists in Cuba." He shared a clip of a report on Bass' activities from the time, saying "Back when the LA Times was still in LA, and used to tell the truth."
He included a section of a 1983 edition of the Los Angeles Times, which was in regards to a case, "Plaintiff Karen Bass, according to a 1973 intelligence document provided to The Times, 'traveled to Cuba with the 6th Contingent of the Venceremos Brigade.
"The brigade trains revolutionary-prone Americans in terrorist tactics and guerrilla warfare while claiming to harvest sugar cane. Bass, characterized as a brigade leader, 'returned from Cuba to the USA bringing back propaganda literature,' the document noted without citing the source of this information." Bass told the LA Times at the time that her eight trips to the Communist nation "were educational and had nothing to do with terrorism."
https://twitter.com/spencerpratt/status/2059832576739869072?s=20
Pratt had released a video days earlier responding to actress Lisa Rinna, who told Variety in regards to Pratt running for mayor, "I’m a reality person. You wouldn’t want me as mayor." Pratt responded, "Hey Lisa, if you're against me because I was on a TV show in my 20's, wait til you learn what Karen Bass was doing in her 20’s."
The video included an interview with local Fox 11, in which he was asked whether being a former reality TV star was helpful or hurtful for his campaign. "The reality, pun intended, is that was from 20 years ago. And if we look at what Karen Bass was doing" in her 20s, "she was in Cuba learning how to make bombs with the people who would then go bomb Capitol Hill."
https://twitter.com/spencerpratt/status/2059352118256194022?s=20
"So, if we’re looking at backgrounds, I’m pretty proud of what I was doing at 20 on reality television, even though I may not have been the most likable character, it was still TV, versus trying to destroy America and going to Cuba 20 times and praising Fidel Castro. So, against my opponent, my background is pretty strong."
Bass has attempted to downplay her involvement in the group. She told The Atlantic in 2020, "We built houses during the day, and then we had what they called cultural activities and we called parties. There was great music, rum, dancing. And we toured the country." She saw Fidel Castro speak during her many trips, and described him as "extremely charismatic."
When Bass was under consideration for being Joe Biden’s 2020 running mate, the Washington Post ran an op-ed saying that due to her history with Cuba, she should be disqualified from consideration. Henry Olson wrote, " Her apparent lifelong fascination with Cuba’s Communist dictatorship should disqualify her from that honor."
When Castro died in 2016, Bass wrote, "The passing of the Comandante en Jefe is a great loss to the people of Cuba." She later expressed regret for the statement, "If I had to make that statement over again, I wouldn’t use those words."
Libby’s Desk
Commentary and must-reads from Libby’s desk, straight to your inbox.
TPM Newsletter
The Post Millennial’s top stories, delivered to your inbox.
