Four people receive 50 hours community service after San Diego mayor office protest
Four of the six people arrested at City Hall in January while they were protesting San Diego police's presence at immigration enforcement operations received diversion at recent court hearings.
Written by Kate Morrissey, Edited by Lauren J. Mapp
A judge granted misdemeanor diversion to four of the six people arrested at City Hall while protesting San Diego police presence at immigration operations.
That means that as long as they complete 50 hours of community service and don't commit crimes over the next year, their charges will be dismissed. The agreement also includes a clause that they cannot enter City Hall for any unlawful purpose.
The six were among a group of people asking to meet with Mayor Todd Gloria about the police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement issue in January. When they believed the mayor and his team were ignoring them, they knocked on doors and walls and barricaded themselves in a reception area.
Jeane Wong, one of the people arrested who was granted diversion, said the group spent most of the afternoon sitting on a couch watching the show “Friends” and eating burritos brought to them by a delivery driver. She said the group was careful to barricade the doors in a way that would cause no damage to the building.
The mayor's office called the group a “public safety hazard” at the time and said that its staff felt intimidated.
Police arrested those who stayed in the building after it closed and charged them with trespassing.
Wong called the decision to press charges disappointing given that the group wanted to speak with the mayor about fears that they have about San Diego police showing up when ICE is targeting protesters.
“They're bold enough to press charges against San Diegans that want to speak to the mayor,” she said after a court hearing in March.
Federal immigration officials arrested Wong and two other U.S. citizens in Linda Vista last July after detaining a Guatemalan man. According to video footage, federal immigration officials tackled one of the U.S. citizens to arrest him. The federal government charged all four with assaulting federal officials and held them at the San Ysidro Port of Entry overnight. San Diego police were present at the time of the three U.S. citizens’ arrests.
Wong accepted a misdemeanor plea deal after acknowledging that she had unmasked an agent who pushed her. The government dropped charges against the Guatemalan man and one U.S. citizen, and the other U.S. citizen made a deal with the government to drop her charges after a year.
San Diego police also responded in November of last year after federal immigration officials called for backup at the 47th Street Trolley Station. Wong and other activists were present there and say that they were again roughed up by ICE.
In Wong's federal case, the government filed documents indicating that agents have been monitoring her activity and that of other activists through Operation Road Flare.
At state court on April 20 in front of Judge Rachel Cano, an attorney representing Holly Taylor, one of the protesters arrested at City Hall, negotiated diversion while the group was still waiting in the hallway to enter the courtroom.
After the judge approved that plan, attorneys for three other protesters argued that their clients should also have the diversion option. They cited their clients’ volunteer work at various organizations throughout the county and lack of criminal record to bolster their cases.
An attorney representing the city objected to the oral motions, asking instead for written ones. The judge granted the diversion orders anyway, including for Wong, whose case was heard last.
When asked about the outcomes, a spokesperson for the mayor's office said it respects the court's decision.
“This trend of threats and disruptions directed at public servants is concerning,” said Joya Patel. “City employees show up every day to serve San Diegans and improve quality of life across our communities, and they deserve to do that work in a safe and respectful environment.”
A fifth protester had his case continued to early May, and the sixth protester did not have his hearing scheduled with the others.
