LA Civil Rights Leaders to Protest Citi Bank for Racially Profiling and Detaining Black Woman

On Monday (03-28-22) at 11am coalition of Los Angeles civil rights activists will call for Jane Fraser the Chief Executive Officer of Citi Bank to immediately terminate the employees responsible for racially profiling and illegally detaining Janice Mofus, 22, better known as Baby Storme on TikTok. She’s an African-American woman falsely accused of possessing a fraudulent check and was locked inside of Los Angeles Citi Bank in West Hollywood last Tuesday.

Civil rights leaders are calling for Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon to also begin criminal proceedings against the Citi Bank employees who illegally detained Mofus who was attempting to deposit a $30,000 check at the branch. The check was sent by Mofus’ father to cover rent for the span of a year.

Mofus said a Citi Bank teller took the check, told her it was being confiscated while locking the exits until police were called. Several parts of the incident were recorded by Mofus and posted for her 900,000 TikTok followers. In the videos, an employee can be seen lowering the security cage at the front entrance. There was one open door, according to Mofus, but the employee stood in front of it and blocked access to it. Citi Bank employees said that Janice Mofus could not leave until the police arrived.

Not only was she illegally detained by employees she was racially profiled and falsely accused of trying to cash a fraudulent check. With the recent controversy of Black Panther Ryan Coogler who was racially profiled and detained in an Atlanta bank until police arrived for attempting to withdraw his own money to now Janice Mofus being detained and racially profiled this is “Banking while Black ”

“The only way this type of blatant racism will stop is when the employees responsible are terminated and if warranted in Janice Mofus case criminally prosecuted. We don’t need a Citi Bank investigation. The videotape speaks for itself. The Citi Bank employees responsible for this racist and criminal act have to be fired by Citi CEO Jane Fraser, ” stated civil rights leader Najee Ali, Director of Project Islamic Hope.

Janice Mofus said she planned to seek legal representation and felt her treatment was racially motivated.

“It’s definitely a racial thing, for sure,” Mofus said. “At (this) point, I feel like it’s above me and just, like, a way bigger issue that just needs awareness.”