California’s attorney general said on Wednesday that he would investigate Los Angeles’ redistricting process, as three city councilmembers face calls to resign after a recording surfaced of them using racist language to mock colleagues and constituents while they planned to protect Latino political strength in council districts.

The move by Rob Bonta, a Democrat like the three councilmembers, comes amid growing calls to address the way politics can influence the redrawing of district maps after the census count each decade.

“My office will conduct an investigation into the city of LA’s redistricting process,” Bonta said, without providing many details. “We’re going to gather the facts, we’re going to work to determine the truth and take action as necessary to ensure the fair application of our laws.

“It’s clear an investigation is sorely needed to help restore confidence in the redistricting process for the people of LA,” he added.

Bonta said the results could bring civil or criminal results. “It could lead to criminality if that’s where the facts and the law dictate,” he said. “There’s certainly the potential for civil liability based on civil rights and voting rights laws here in the state of California.”

Bonta’s investigation comes days after the leak of audio recordings of an October 2021 meeting between the three Latino members of the city council and a labor leader sparked disbelief across the city and prompted calls to investigate the redistricting process.

The discussion between the then city council president, Nury Martinez, the council members Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, and the labor leader Ron Herrera centered on protecting Latino political power during the redrawing of council district boundaries, known as redistricting.

The recordings document the political leaders crudely discussing the power dynamics behind the redistricting process. But they also recorded Martinez mocking the young son of her fellow councilmember Mike Bonin, calling Indigenous immigrants from the Mexican state of Oaxaca ugly, and making crass remarks about Jews and Armenians.

Martinez on Wednesday resigned from the city council, after she had previously stepped down as its president and announced she was taking a leave of absence.

De León and Cedillo have apologized, but have so far resisted calls to give up their seats, despite intense pressure to do so, including from Joe Biden.

Bonta on Wednesday spoke in Los Angeles while the council itself was trying to conduct business nearby, possibly to censure the three members, none of whom were in attendance. But the board was unable to operate because a crowd of protesters outside. Demonstrators inside shouted “No resignations, no meeting.” The acting council president eventually announced that there was no longer a quorum and adjourned the meeting.

The council cannot expel the members; it can only suspend a member when criminal charges are pending. A censure does not result in suspension or removal from office.

A city council meeting the previous day – the first since news of the recording broke – was interrupters by demonstrators filling the chambers, demanding the council members’ resignation.

In emotional remarks at Tuesday’s meeting, Bonin said he was deeply wounded by the taped discussion. He lamented the harm to his young son and the fact that the city was in international headlines spotlighting the racist language. “I’m sickened by it,” he said, calling again for his colleagues’ resignations.

“Healing is impossible as long as you remain in office,” Bonin said in a tweet directed at the trio on Wednesday. “Resign. Now.”

In one of the most diverse cities in the nation, a long line of public speakers at the meeting said the disclosure of the secretly taped meeting brought with it echoes of the Jim Crow era and was a stark example of “anti-Blackness”.

There were calls for investigations and reforming redistricting policy.

Many of the critics also were Latino and spoke of being betrayed by their own leaders.

Candido Marez, 70, a retired business owner, said he wasn’t surprised by the language used by Martinez, who is known for being blunt and outspoken.

“Her words blew up this city. It is disgraceful,“ he said. “She must resign.“

Calls for the council members to resign have come from across the Democratic establishment.

Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said Tuesday that the president wanted Martinez, De León and Cedillo to resign.

“The language that was used and tolerated during that conversation was unacceptable, and it was appalling. They should all step down,” Jean-Pierre said.

The US senator Alex Padilla, the outgoing mayor, Eric Garcetti, the mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Rick Caruso and several members of the council have called on the three members to depart.

California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, has stopped short of doing so, denouncing the racist language and saying he was “encouraged that those involved have apologized and begun to take responsibility for their actions”.