Every week for the last two months, Proud Boys, Trump supporters, and other white supremacists have circled the State Capitol building to protest the presidential election outcome. There are many substantiated reports of Proud Boys harassing pedestrians of color, unhoused people, and downtown residents. There are even reports and videos of physical attacks.
The response from the city, the Sacramento Police department, and its partner agencies, has been lackadaisical. The few arrests that have been made are of antiracist counter protesters (not the white supremacist aggressors). Civil rights attorney, Tifanei Ressl-Moyer detailed why this is a form of political repression here. The City of Sacramento has protected Proud Boys and provided opportunity for their white supremacist movement to grow strong. Some of the same Sacramento faction of Proud Boys were seen storming the U.S. capitol last week and posting videos on social media as proof: https://youtu.be/BPi53yHq4Qw.
The city's uninspired police response is of course in stark contrast to the way police brutalized Sacramentans who protested police brutality last summer after George Floyd's very public and horrifying execution by Minneapolis police. Sacramento police, supported by the National Guard, responded with ruthless force against protesters without provocation or serious threat of violence from protesters. Many people in our city are still living with the physical and psychological harms from these events.
On January 19, 2021 at 5:00 PM, Sacramento City council is responding the myriad of complaints by opening public comment to discuss police response to Proud Boys in our city.
Call to action
Call-in to share your outrage or personal experience: 5PM City Council. National Lawyers' Guild is collecting stories of people who would like to share their stories, but stay anonymous using this email address: aerogerslaw@protonmail.com
This last minute public form is of course not enough. But it is an opportunity to let city council know just how impactful and harmful their inaction and the police response has been.