Florida Congressman Gaetz Appears At LA 'FreeBritney' Rally
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida made an appearance at a "#FreeBritney" rally outside the downtown Los Angeles courthouse Wednesday in support of the singer.
On Wednesday, a hearing was held in Los Angeles County Superior Court in the ongoing conservatorship case of singer Britney Spears.
Gaetz, who is under federal investigation for alleged obstruction of a child-sex-trafficking case in which he's been implicated, spoke to a crowd of Spears supporters and called the continuing conservatorship "a black eye on the American justice system."
"Britney has been abused by the media. She's been abused by a grifter father, and she's been abused by the American justice system," Gaetz told the crowd outside the. And so we need to come together to create a federal cause of action, a federal change in the law that will free Britney and the millions of Americans who are impacted by a corrupt guardian system that empowers people to take advantage of the weak."
"... There were grifters in this process that tried to act like they spoke for Britney, that they knew what she wanted," he said. "Well now, the whole world knows what Britney Spears wants, and it is the freedom and the liberty that should be offered to every single American."
Earlier this month, Gaetz and several other Republican lawmakers sent an invitation to Spears asking her to testify before Congress about the conservatorship.
"This case should open our eyes to the broader abuse that occurs in this system to the millions of Americans impacted," he said.
The crowd largely welcomed the controversial congressman's presence.
The hearing's agenda before Judge Brenda Penny included the singer's personal choice for an attorney, a request by her personal conservator for more security and some estate accounting matters.
In a major victory for the singer, the judge approved the singer's request Wednesday to hire her own attorney in her bid to end the conservatorship.
Up until now, Spears has been represented by a court-appointed attorney.
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