Orange County Activist Jailed on July 4, at Costa
Mesa Nike Town Protest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — On July 4, 2002,
approximately thirty protesters convened upon Nike
Town in Costa Mesa, to protest against corporate
abuse and sweatshop labor. The protest was
peaceful, fun, and colorful, from 12:00 until 3:00PM.
Around 3:30, three young white males waving an
American flag approached the protestors, shouting and making obscene gestures toward them, and
began kicking their signs. A crowd gathered, and one
of the men threw an apple, which hit one of the
protesters in the face. At that point, one of the
white males began grabbing his genitals, and shouted “suck my dick, bitch" to one of the female protestors. He then proceeded to shout at her, and another demonstrator, Naui Huitzilopochtli, telling them to “Go back to Mexico, you fucking wetbacks.” All three were telling them, “Let’s go, come on motherfuckers, I’ll kick your ass.” They began throwing pennies at the protestors, taunting and spitting at them.
All of a sudden, a masked person ran up, and
squirted the men with red paint. The unknown
assailant fled the scene, and the Costa Mesa police
(who had been present the whole time) intervened on
behalf of the three white males. One of them told an
officer that he had been assaulted with paint, and
when the police asked him who did it, he pointed to
Naui. Without question, the officer grabbed Naui, and
handcuffed him. Numerous protestors who witnessed the event told the officers that Naui was innocent. But
the police told them to "shut up," or they would all
be arrested. The police then declared the demonstration to be an unlawful assembly, and they
gave the protestors two minutes to disperse. The
police allowed the three white males to fill out crime
victim reports at the scene of the incident, but would
not allow any of the protestors to fill out reports
against them. In fact, the police told the protestors
that if they did not leave, everyone would be
arrested.
The protestors then went to the Costa Mesa
police station, where the clerk at the front desk
asked, “Why didn’t you fill out a report at the crime
scene?” They informed her that police officers would
not allow them to do so. Approximately twenty
protesters arrived at the station to file complaints,
but the police threatened to arrest them. They had to
fill out the reports in the parking lot.
It is very disturbing how Naui and the
protestors were treated by Costa Mesa police officers.
The police refused to listen to witness testimony at
the scene. Naui’s family had to post bail, for a
crime he did not commit. Despite the fact these three
white males shouted racial slurs, threw objects, spit at,
and sexually harassed the protestors, somehow, THEY were the crime victims.
This is serious police repression, and the worst
case of police abuse, racism, and misogyny that we
have ever seen. We plan to go to the Orange County Human Relations Committee, the Costa Mesa City Council, and pursue whatever legal methods we can use to ensure that justice is served. This case has placed financial hardship on Naui and his family. He is in great need of legal defense funds, and court
solidarity. He will not plead guilty to a crime he
did not commit. If you can send legal defense funds,
and/or support our case against the Costa Mesa Police Department, please call (714) 303-0004, or e-mail atlachinolli_front@yahoo.com.

I was there and saw the whole thing and would agree with the description of the article above with the addition of the fact that someone picked up the apple (or some type of fruit) that was thrown by one of the three white jock type guys at the protesters and threw that fruit back at them hiting one of them in the back. Further, some of the protesters where understandably shouting and yelling insults back at the three white males but none of these insults were racist, sexist or sexual orientationaly oppressive. Other then these two added comments, that is exactly what happened.
One thing that i would note as a lesson learned from this protest is that from the moment that these three guys came and started trouble as they were walking by, the entire protest of some 35 people or so that were still around at 3:30 immediately stopped the protest turning their backs and signs on the cars driving by and started to engage with the ignorant guys (or agent provocatures) or look in on what was going on. Because of this the tensions of the moment grew and gave the pretext for the police to come up and get involved which led to the arrest of one of our commrades and the break up of the entire protest. In this sense our protest was completely co-opted by the three instigators and the police who we all should know are going to side with them. Take from this observation what you will but i could see it all coming from the moment that most of the people there protesting decided to pay more attention to the agent provocatures rather then the protest. I ask myself what would i have done if the fruit hit me in the face.....? I'm not sure but one thing seemed for certain in that context...... throw it back and the cops and the ruling class who's bidding they do will be happy. We all need to have Solidarity with Naui I can personaly testify to the fact that he is not the person who did what he is accused of.........

In the absesne of communication there is ignorance

P.S. When we got back to our car it had been sabotaged. Someone poped the hood (it is an old car with no inside the cab hood release) and ripped off and took our coil wire for the ignition system. We had to walk 2 miles to an auto store that luckily was open on the holiday to purchase a new wire and two miles back to the car. This put us in jeopordy of failing to disperse the area when our car would not start and forced us to walk back to the scene to fix the car when we got the new part which may have also been conscrued as failure to disperse the scene. Only the cops and the people protesting there would have seen what car we drove up in........

The unknown individual that threw the red paint on the three young males was not masked... just to dispel any false assumptions that it is always the masked individuals that escalate things.

The article under this states that the Long Beach cases are "similar, but unrelated," but I actually see some startling parallels between the situations.

On the Fourth of July,2002, Naui added his name to a number of other Southern California activists falsely arrested. The list is growing: Matt Lamont, Max, Jeff, Sherman, the other Matt, Leti Rodriguez, and Sarah are the few that come to my mind. It would be much longer if we included all those falsely arrested last year at the May Day protest in Long Beach. It is not the length of the list that should upset you but the circumstances that surround these kidnappings. All of these folks were falsely arrested in the process of speaking truth to power. They were doing their best to preserve the freedom and liberty we all take for granted.

Who will come to Naui's defense? Who will now say enough is enough? How many more need to be arrested and deprived of their civil liberties before mainstream "Americans" realize they are living in a fascist police state?

Donate your money, your time and your energy to help this young man. He and the rest of the disappeared stood for us. Now is the time to stand tall for them. Let your representatives know how you feel. Write your local newspapers and let them know how you feel. Call the Costa Mesa police and let them know how you feel. You can contact Sgt. Don Holford with CMPD Internal Affairs at 714-754-5603. You can also call the front desk of the Costa Mesa police department to register a complaint at 714-754-5280. Do not wait until they come for you. By that time there may be no one left to object.

Relax, yo. I did not mean to fuel any stereotypes against masked people. There's nothing wrong with being masked at a demo. It actually makes a lot of sense, given the police state we live in.

The guy had a crude mask over his head (maybe it was a t-shirt?) but the point is, his face was concealed.

But, don't worry, no one is dissing or hating in any way on masked people.

Peace out!

You say, "Despite the fact these three
white males shouted racial slurs, threw objects, spit at, and sexually harassed the protestors, somehow, THEY were the crime victims. " Let's look at the finer points-

1: racial slurs - not a crime.
2: sexually harassed the protestors - not a crime.

Possibly, throwing objects could be a misdemeanor, but how do you justify using a caustic material to assault someone with? Shouldn't you be upset at the lunatic who goes around throwing paint on people? He's the reason your friend is in jail. Why doesn't he come out of hiding and admt his crime, so the "innocent" guy can be released? Where's the solidarity? Were those other guys the victims? Well, yes, they were. You don't counter words with violence, so until you learn that lesson, you'll keep getting arrested for breaking the law.

Unfortunately, our country has weak hate crime laws that don't protect
women, gays, and minorities. But shouting slurs at people does
constitute a form of violence that yes, is not protected against by
the law like young white males in OC are. Spare me your rhetoric.
The "caustic" liquid was a problem, but, hey, it's self defense buddy,
so spare me your glaring sympathy to white privilege and all its
hypocrisy and inconsistencies.

So if I attempt to debate an issue, I'm a "dick"? I guess you guys aren't very thick-skinned if you need to assault someone who calls you names. Don't you have more self-respect than that? What if whites saw you as a threat? Would they be justified in using force (say pepper spray, or a gun) in self-defense?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is't really about equality and justice, is it? It just seems that whatever means are used against whites are somehow acceptable...

> Stosh wrote:
>
> You say, "Despite the fact these three
> white males shouted racial slurs, threw
> objects, spit at, and sexually harassed the
> protestors, somehow, THEY were the crime victims."
> Let's look at the finer points-
>
> 1: racial slurs - not a crime.
> 2: sexually harassed the protestors - not a
> crime.
>
> Possibly, throwing objects could be a misdemeanor,
> but how
> do you justify using a caustic material to assault
> someone with?

I personally don't believe that its justified for anyone to spit, hit, sexually harass, or throw paint on anybody whether its the protestors or the "three white males."

But the issues here are much deeper than you are aware of.

One question is why did the Costa Mesa police basically used the arrest as a pretext to shut the demonstration down by declaring it an "unlawful assembly?" There is no evidence to indicate that the protestors were going to engage the kind of conduct that would justify the police giving out that order.

And why were the police unwilling to talk with protestors who wanted to file a report against the "three white males" who themselves were engaging in physical assault? All of the protestors who approached the officers to do this were basically threatened with arrest if they didn't leave the scene immediately.

In addition to this, why did the Costa Mesa police allow the "three white males" to remain on the scene and file statements with them? Are you saying that the testimony of the protestors is less credible given that they too were engaged in the same kind of misconduct they claim to be victims of?

> Shouldn't you be upset at the lunatic who goes
> around throwing
> paint on people? He's the reason your friend is in jail.
> Why doesn't he come out of hiding and admt his
> crime, so
> the "innocent" guy can be released? Where's the
> solidarity? Were those other guys the victims?
> Well, yes, they were.
> You don't counter words with violence, so until you
> learn that lesson, you'll keep getting arrested for
> breaking the law.

The Costa Mesa police broke well-established constitutional law by issuing what appears to have been an illegal order for the demonstrators to disperse; and they grossly violated the due process rights of the person they arrested by threatening to arrest all the witnesses at the scene.

Can I issue a warrant for the arrest of all the police officers that were present that day since they were "breaking the law" too?

Sincerely,

Duane J. Roberts
duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com

Member, County Council
Green Party of Orange Coun

> Stosh wrote:
>
> You say, "Despite the fact these three
> white males shouted racial slurs, threw
> objects, spit at, and sexually harassed the
> protestors, somehow, THEY were the crime victims."
> Let's look at the finer points-
>
> 1: racial slurs - not a crime.
> 2: sexually harassed the protestors - not a
> crime.
>
> Possibly, throwing objects could be a misdemeanor,
> but how
> do you justify using a caustic material to assault
> someone with?

I personally don't believe that its justified for anyone to spit, hit, sexually harass, or throw paint on anybody whether its the protestors or the "three white males."

But the issues here are much deeper than you are aware of.

One question is why did the Costa Mesa police basically used the arrest as a pretext to shut the demonstration down by declaring it an "unlawful assembly?" There is absolutely no evidence to indicate that the protestors were going to engage the kind of conduct that would justify the police giving out that order.

And why were the police unwilling to talk with protestors who wanted to file a report against the "three white males" who themselves were engaging in physical assault? All of the protestors who approached the officers to do this were basically threatened with arrest if they didn't leave the scene immediately.

In addition to this, why did the Costa Mesa police allow the "three white males" to remain on the scene and file statements with them? Are you saying that the testimony of the protestors is less credible given that these "three white males" were engaged in the same kind of misconduct they claim to be victims of?

> Shouldn't you be upset at the lunatic who goes
> around throwing
> paint on people? He's the reason your friend is in jail.
> Why doesn't he come out of hiding and admt his
> crime, so
> the "innocent" guy can be released? Where's the
> solidarity? Were those other guys the victims?
> Well, yes, they were.
> You don't counter words with violence, so until you
> learn that lesson, you'll keep getting arrested for
> breaking the law.

The Costa Mesa police broke well-established constitutional law by issuing what appears to have been an illegal order for the demonstrators to disperse; and they grossly violated the due process rights of the person they arrested by threatening to arrest all the witnesses at the scene.

Can I issue a warrant for the arrest of all the police officers that were present that day since they apparently were "breaking the law" too?

Sincerely,

Duane J. Roberts
duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com

Member, County Council
Green Party of Orange County

Adding to Duane's critique of Stosh: Destruction of the personal property of the protestors (i.e. their signs and paint that was kicked around as the three provocateurs walked through the protest shouting insults) is a crime. The physical assult of some of the protestors that were pushed around by the provocateurs would constitute assult and battery as much (and i would argue even more so) as throwing some washable paint on an individual. What is also more serious of and assult then throwing washable paint on a person is throwing a solid object such as a nectarine and hitting someone in the face.
Intersting to note here is that the provocateurs committed two crimes against the protestors before the paint was thrown on one of them. What is so telling about the broader institutionalized oppression at work in this context and others like it where people gather to challenge the status quo, and which Stosh ommits from his analysis, is that the police where sitting on motorcycles and standing roughly 20 yards from the whole sequence of events and chose not to get involved untill the paint was trown on one of the provocateurs. Why would officers of law be so selective in enforcing the rule of law and why selective in this particularly way........? Perhaps Stosh should try to ascertain the role of the police in post-industrial-capitalist control society before Stosh makes an attempt at a coherent analysis of all the variables involved in the situation. At other protests in the history of our struggle where there were no provocateurs to come by and harass the protest, law enforcement created 'agent-provocateurs' for the purpose of starting trouble in order to elicit a response from the protestors and thus, giving the police a pretext (one instigated by them) to break up the demonstration and arrest some of the protestors. I do not know if this was the case in this situation which is why i have refered to the three white males as provocateurs as opposed to agent-prococateurs. But i can say that our car being sabotaged as i mentioned in the first comment above was quiet disturbing when i think of the possibilities on who may have done it..........

Solidarity

Stosh,

How do you justify using a dangerous projectile to assault someone with? Why do you think that paint, which was already on people's hands from handling the signs, is more dangerous ("caustic" as you called it) than a hard apple which hit someone in the face? What about the pennies they were throwing? All those can do much more damage than some paint.

The instigators were clearly more violent with throwing things and yelling hate speech, than the person who squirted some paint, yet the real violent ones were allowed to make police reports while the real crime victims were forced to leave. You say, "You don't counter words with violence, so until you learn that lesson, you'll keep getting arrested for breaking the law." Since the three instigators were the first to start throwing things and begin violence, you don't think people who are already being attacked can use self-defense?

It's amazing how you see the story as the three white men being victims despite the facts.

the three white bigots who taunted and harrassed the protestors in front of nike on july 4th, are the real terrorists and should be in jail. but we all know that with this current administration, those bigots will be allowed to reek havoc on minorities, and the innocent. perhaps a stray bullet will knock these bigots out, like a bowling ball knocks down bowling pins. they deserve to be in the gutter.

they should all be in jail along with all the filthy nigger and spic gang-bangers and dope dealers! THOSE are the real terrorists, like the ones who shoot down innocent children in LA because they're too stupid to shoot straight. It's minorities terrorizing themselves. There's no whites that live in those shitholes, only muds...

Do anyone treat your news seriously?

Zinzan, I'm sorry you are so insecure that you have to resort to posting hateful comments that are of no use to anybody on the internet. I'm sorry you can't spend your time doing more productive, emotionally fulfilling activities. My heart goes out to you...

Gee, I'm sorry that the truth hurts. I thought you would have cared about the innocent kids that get gunned down while going to the store, or playing in their yards, but I guess when you kill your own kind, that it's somehow acceptable (?). I also assume since "anon"'s message of hate didn't garner any special attention from you, that maybe you hate Whites as much as he seems to. Pretty sad, considering that he would like them gone, while I made no mention of killing anyone (they do a pretty good job of that themselves).

If you want to see pictures of Naui's arrest, please see the article I just posted titled "Urgent, Call to All Present at Nike Town Protest."

Also, if you were there, please read that article immediately.

Thanks!

Naui and other protesters will speak to the Costa Mesa City Council about the incident on Monday, July 15, at 6:30 PM. The meeting takes place at the Costa Mesa City Hall at 77 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa, Across from the OC Fairgrounds.

We will also speak to the Costa Mesa Human Relations Committee on Wednesday, July 24, at 7:00 PM about the incident.

If you can not be present at these meetings, please call Sergeant Holford of the Costa Mesa PD at (714) 754-5603, to voice your concerns.

So what happened?

They kissed and made-up, for the real throught can be weeded out of the original article. The author is a racist and over stated the facts.

Then this Naui character put his Aztec feathers on and did the "anti police brutality dance." The crowd of activists was enthralled, right up until he asked for a volunteer to have his heart cut out, at which point his lights became punched out. Hilarity ensued.