TheLiberalOC is pleased to publish two statements from Irvine Democrats condemning the violence that erupted at Rep. Katie Porter’s family friendly town hall last Sunday. The first statement is from Democrats of Greater Irvine and the second from the AD-74 delegation for the DPOC.
This past January 6, we saw a violent attack and armed insurrection on our nation’s Capitol, in an attempt to halt the process of electing a new President. We also saw the Capitol Police heroically defend the Capitol and our Members of Congress from this violent attack. On July 11, we saw white supremacist violence at a Congressional event right here in Irvine.
Last Sunday, our Irvine community witnessed the disruption of our Congresswoman’s town hall by known white supremacists who have acted violently in past public events. The group communicated in advance their intent to “confront” Rep. Katie Porter at the town hall. Numerous reports suggest that police presence at the town hall was practically nonexistent, with reports of only three officers present and quite removed from the event. When violence broke out, attendees remarked “It seemed like forever until [the police] arrived.” Those that disturbed the peace went uncited and were allowed to stay and continue disturbing the peace after violence broke out.
Of course, our police officers must defend our democratic processes, events, institutions and representatives. The violent disruptions at the Irvine town hall—and increasingly elsewhere in Orange County—were unacceptable and cannot be normalized in our democracy. As we see the rise in right-wing militias and polarization, we must confront the roots of division and act before we fall to the same fate as countries before us.
We stand with our Congresswoman Katie Porter in calling for every elected official to speak out against the violence on July 11 in Irvine, and against all white supremacist violence in Orange County. As Rep. Porter said on July 12, “This is not democracy,” speaking about the violent conduct at the event.
We also call for the Irvine Police Department, the OC Sheriff, and the OC District Attorney to publicly denounce white supremacy, make a statement on what occured at the July 11 event, describe their efforts to stop such disturbances and violence at future town halls, and state their efforts in support of our democratic institutions and elected officials.
The Democrats of Greater Irvine condemn the actions of white nationalists and white supremacists. DGI is a party-affiliated grassroots political club, but defending our democracy is a non-partisan position we all have a shared responsibility to take on.
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Democrats of Greater Irvine – democratsofgreaterirvine.com
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CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 74 DELEGATION CONDEMNS WHITE NATIONALISM IN OUR DISTRICT
On July 11, 2021, Democratic Congresswoman Katie Porter (CA-45) held a family-friendly town hall event at an Irvine Community Park. A crowd of white nationalist Trump supporters attended and engaged in a violent disturbance at the event. Congresswoman Porter intervened to separate the disrupters from the attendees. Ultimately, one individual was arrested and released with a citation to appear for an assault charge.
We unequivocally condemn the actions of white nationalists and condemn white supremacy in all its forms. We see clearly that white supremacist violence against Black, Brown, Jewish, and Muslim people is a danger to our communities and a danger to our district. White supremacist violence is terrorism and must be condemned in the strongest of terms, and anything short of unambiguous condemnation of the heinous acts and beliefs of white supremacist groups is complicity. The danger of white supremacy is not restricted to physical violence or hate speech but is institutionalized into our laws, culture, education, and government. White supremacy is also present in the economic and racial injustice faced by communities of color and indigenous people.
Those who organized these efforts came to disrupt the democratic assembly of residents of AD74 have a record of hate speech, misogyny, and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric online as well as violence at community events. Their hate is not welcome in the 74th Assembly District and their actions do not represent the overwhelming majority of those who live in the district regardless of political party registration.
We call upon law enforcement to act against public disturbances of the peace by white nationalists in our community and protect our residents against the dangers of white nationalist violence. We also call upon community leaders, of any political party, to do more to protect our residents’ freedom of assembly and right to attend community events without fear or threat of harm. This specific group credits the Orange County Republican Party for its actions at Congresswoman Porter’s town hall. We specifically call upon members of the California Republican Party to speak out against and halt white supremacy within their party.
We will remain vigilant in calling out, condemning, and dismantling white supremacy wherever we find it.
Irvine Police Department
The IPD reportedly had two officers and a Sergeant present at the event. Reports from the scene were that IPD was positioned at the other side of the park. One attendee said it took forever for the police to respond when a physical confrontation broke out between a few in attendance.
The IPD should have anticipated and planned for a likely confrontation. Instead, they were apparently poorly staffed, poorly deployed, and seemed to have “slow rolled” their response. That raises serious questions.
Why do white supremacists too often get the kid-glove treatment from cops?
Mayor Khan
After the confrontation, the Mayor took to Facebook to defend the police and blame the victim. The Mayor dismissed criticism of the police response and said Porter‘s“…staff should have hired private security knowing there would be counter protesters there.” Maybe, but IPD should have had intel (or follow a few local Twitter accounts even?), been better prepared, and had a much more visible presence and robust response.
To my knowledge, the Mayor has not publicly expressed support for Porter, regret for the incident, or condemned the actions of the extremists. Instead, the Mayor chose to defend the actions of the IPD and blame the congressional staff. Not good.
Hopefully, the Mayor recognizes the increasingly serious threat posed by extremists like those who incited violence at the Porter event. The people involved in this incident are reportedly connected to hate groups associated with the violent insurrection on January 6 where white supremacists and Nazi-types stormed our nation’s Capital and threatened to kill members of congress and hang the Vice-president.
Mike Carroll
Mayor Khan’s political ally, Mike Carroll, moves from one controversy to the next. Bankrolled by Five Point, misappropriating taxpayer money, violating constituent’s 1st Amendment rights by blocking their comments on his public social media, and running the controversial Orange County Power Authority, Carroll’s moral compass seems broken.
In a Facebook post after the organized confrontation with Katie Porter, Carroll called for Porter to apologize for comparing the fear she felt in D.C. on January 6 to the fear she experienced in Irvine on July 11. I understand why someone like Carroll might not want the public connecting the dots between these events, but the fact is they are directly connected.
Being an ethically challenged local politician is bad enough but flirting with violent extremists and fascists? Even politicians who often role-play their public persona’s will break character occasionally and reveal themselves.
(Source:. https://irvinewatchdog.org/2021/07/16/opinion-irvine-leaders-blame-congresswoman-katie-porter-in-town-hall-confrontation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=opinion-irvine-leaders-blame-congresswoman-katie-porter-in-town-hall-confrontation)
and Farrah took issue with Watchdog’s reporting on this story; I don’t remember who had the byline either
For those of us who’d hoped that Anaheim taking away the Veterans Cemetery from Irvine like a valuable object from a child would put an end to the stupid schisms between Irvine Democrats, THINK AGAIN.
I suggest you look at the high cost of putting that cemetery in Anaheim; considerably more expensive than Irvine which means it won’t happen where you think it will
Did you start drinking again after your dad died. Bet he was embarrassed about you with 5 Duis and alll. Still beating your wife? I think you are