Progressive activists decry San Diego P.D. for preventing Trump rally riot

Progressive activists decry San Diego P.D. for preventing Trump rally riot

Legal Insurrection readers will recall that security was tight at the Donald Trump rally I attended, and was full deployed after the event to avoid a another Albuquerque-style riot from occurring.

Most San Diegans were thrilled that our police department was diligent about implementing effective security measures.

However, progressive activists were exceedingly unhappy at the level of containment our police force achieved. A group of their “leaders” held a press conference in Barrio Logan, the staging area of anti-Trump marchers that day, to complain about….martial law!

…During a late-morning news conference in the bayside neighborhood, the group of activists voiced their complaints about the heavy paramilitary-style law enforcement presence at the Friday afternoon campaign event, during which 35 protesters were arrested, including city attorney candidate Bryan Pease.

“It is reprehensible that Mayor (Kevin) Faulconer and (police) Chief (Shelley) Zimmerman ordered riot police and armored vehicles to descend into Barrio Logan, a historic community with a rich tradition of advocating for civil (and) human rights and the self-determination of the Mexicano community,” said Kiki Ochoa, a member of Union del Barrio, one of the organizations that led a contingent into downtown San Diego from Barrio Logan to protest the Republican presidential candidate’s appearance.

…Ricardo Favela of Alliance San Diego said the area was turned into a militarized zone, threatening residents and scaring families.

“Law enforcement officials dressed in riot gear with armored vehicles behind them, marched in a wall of force that stretched the width of Harbor Drive, pushing a small number of protesters from downtown San Diego into the residential area of Barrio Logan, over a mile away,” Favela said.

The reports playing today kept referring to “small tanks” to add to the saga’s drama. These “tanks” are actually small armored support vehicles used in the deployment after unlawful assembly was declared, and members of the crowd refused to disperse.

“San Diegans demand that Mayor Faulconer and Chief Zimmerman account for their actions that created unnecessary tension and arrests in Barrio Logan,” Pedro Rios [director of the American Friends Service Committee in San Diego] said. “The use of small tanks and riot police against San Diego residents has no place in America’s Finest City.”

Actually, as a San Diegan, I am really good with what Police Chief Shelly Zimmerman arranged. There were no “tanks” anywhere to be seen, but plenty of Mexican Flags.

People demonstrate against Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump outside his campaign event in San Diego, California , U.S. May 27, 2016. REUTERS/David McNew

I think it is worthwhile looking at some of these malcontents.

Bryan Pease, our erstwhile City Attorney hopeful, was one of the 35 who managed to get arrested.

“I was tackled by several police officers for filming their riot (Friday) following the Trump protest, when they forced all protesters all the way to Barrio Logan,” Bryan Pease, candidate for San Diego city attorney, said today in a statement. “Message: go back to Barrio Logan.”

“I was then held for 10 hours in a cramped, filthy jail cell with 20 other individuals similarly falsely arrested until our bail of $500 each was processed,” Pease said

Perhaps if the protesters had not tried to breach the secured area, then the police force may not have had to declare “unlawful assembly“? Perhaps if Pease dispersed when the order was issued, he would not have been arrested?

Kiki Ochoa’s Union del Barrio prepared a synopsis of the event which reads like a progressive fantasy. Here is a snippet:

San Diego’s Chicano Park was the gathering point for at least 800 people who participated in a politically militant and well organized action to unwelcome the anti-Arab, anti-Black, anti-Mexican, anti-Woman, power-hungry, neo-fascist oligarch Donald Trump.

Participants repeated slogans like ¡Trump Fascista – Tu Eres Terrorista! and ¡Luchar, Luchar – Luchar Contra Trump! throughout the event, which began with a short rally in the park and moved on to become a march down Cesar Chavez Parkway and Harbor Drive, right up to the main entrance of the San Diego Convention Center.

Gotta love the peace, love and tolerance!

Pedro Rios’ organization, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization that supposedly promotes lasting peace with justice, as a practical expression of faith in action. The group’s next project? Advancing peace and justice at the Republican National Convention.

Finally, Ricardo Favela’s Alliance San Diego looks like one of the fruits of the ACORN tree:

…[In] 2007, when a small group of organizers from different communities, drawing on lessons from other cities, launched Equality Alliance of San Diego County (commonly known as Alliance San Diego), an organization focused on building coalitions to promote social justice and social change.

It was an unmet need whose time had come: While individual organizations could point to progress and victories in such key areas of social justice as educational access, immigrant rights, and tax and fiscal equity, vast areas of need remained, new challenges continued to arise, and some issues continued to intensify and grow.

Quick, someone call the WAAAMBULANCE fast our “whine” may replace craft beer as San Diego’s most famous beverage.

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