UCLA’s Chris Zepeda-Millán spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the role of social media in the case of a group of street vendor advocates whose calls for protest have led to violence. The activists have used social media to draw crowds to the homes and workplaces of people accused of attacking street vendors or saying something racist. Some incidents led to intimidation and attacks, authorities say, and the activists are being held on charges of conspiracy, assault and other violent felonies. Zepeda-Millán, associate professor of public policy and chair of Labor Studies at UCLA, spoke about the bridge between people who engage with activism only through social media and those who want to physically be on the streets. “Social media provides an additional form of civic engagement,” he said. “Some people might not be comfortable in crowds, but we have to ask ourselves, does that mean they shouldn’t participate at all in public dialogue and politics?”