The hand-made sign, reading “AG BONTA ALTADENA DEMANDS AN INVESTIGATION,” appeared to be held by several riders on the “Rising Together” float in front of broadcast cameras. Rob Bonta is the California Attorney General.
The float was dedicated to the 13,000 families who lost their homes and the 31 people who died in the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
Pasadena Now reporter Eddie Rivera said a person wearing a raincoat who may have been a Rose Parade official approached the float riders and pulled the banner away. The man then crumpled the banner and tossed it back onto the float as it continued along the parade route.
Some spectators later told Pasadena Now they saw the sign again as the parade wound down Colorado Boulevard, suggesting it had been uncrumpled and re-displayed.
A publicist associated with the “Rising Together” float said the signage displayed was not part of the float.
The publicist said the California Community Foundation and the Black Freedom Fund, which sponsored the float, “stand with the community and support the urgency of calls for accountability and justice.”
The publicist said “Rising Together” was created to honor the courage and resilience of wildfire survivors and to remember those whose lives were forever changed — and those who were lost — adding that the organizations involved remain committed to justice for survivors and to walking alongside the community as it recovers, rebuilds and heals.
No individual or organization has claimed responsibility for creating or displaying the sign, although a number of groups and individuals have expressed support for the message.
Two riders on the float — Eaton Fire survivors Shimica Gaskins and Gina Clayton-Johnson — were quoted in a statement released Thursday by Altadena for Accountability, which described itself as a collective of community members, organizers, activists and advocates from Altadena.
“After experiencing one of the hardest moments of my life, it’s deplorable that a full year later Altadena residents are still fighting for outstanding answers on fire response missteps and a clear plan to prevent this level of failure from happening again,” Clayton-Johnson said in the statement. “We cannot move forward or rebuild until there is true accountability and meaningful change.”
Gaskins said that when 18 people die in a historically Black community because residents were not evacuated, it warrants an investigation. She said it has been nearly one year since the fire and no investigation has been launched. Citing what she described as documented evidence of racial disparities in evacuations, Gaskins said it is the role of the attorney general to determine whether civil rights laws or other laws were violated.
A group calling itself Altadena Rising posted a photo of the sign being held on the float on Instagram and published a message supporting the call for an investigation, saying the “Rising Together” float carried more than flowers and that “the world is watching.”
The group called on Los Angeles County officials to be held accountable for negligence, civil rights violations or unlawful conduct during the Eaton Fire that may have contributed to the destruction of the town, including the deaths of 19 residents across Altadena.
Parade judges earlier awarded the “Rising Together” float the Fantasy Award.
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