In Mank (2020) at 1h:12mins, Mank, who was lighting a cigar, and Sara, carrying bags, walked out of the building. Then, Mank encountered C.C, who was carrying a sandwich board promoting Sinclair for governor:
Mank: Looks like you found work, C.C.
C.C: Don't nose it around, but yeah, just in the nick.
Mank: Who's hiring?
C.C: MGM. They cleaned out the Washington and Culver gates like a dose of Ex-Lax. Grady gets a speaking part. They told us to come dressed as we are. I don't know who thought of it, but it keeps a lot of us off the streets.
What does "cleaned out" mean?