The mayor of Los Angeles on Wednesday threatened to cut off the utilities of houses that are caught throwing large parties in defiance of social distancing rules. Eric Garcetti authorized the L.A. Department of Water and Power to shut off services to homes found to be repeat violators of the city’s ban on large gatherings, measures meant to slow the spread of COVID-19. “Starting on Friday night, if LAPD responds and verifies that a large gathering is occurring at a property, and we see these properties offending time and time again, they will provide notice and initiate the process to request that DWP shut off service within the next 48 hours,” the mayor said at a press conference. Garcetti leveled the threat at “people determined to break the rules, posing significant public dangers and a threat to all of us.” Multiple house parties in the city have gone viral on social media even as California’s coronavirus cases have reached the highest of any state. Neighbors called police on one recent party in the Beverly Crest neighborhood that authorities declined to break up. A shooting at the same gathering left one woman dead later that evening.