Ongoing list of MMP protest coverage
It has been suggested to me that we try and gather a lot of coverage in one place, for easy reference. I am pulling most of this info from the blog of one of our members. The blog address is www.whatheidisays.blogspot.com. I encourage people to add to this list, in addition to, or instead posting the articles on the forum
This is the first article on the protest
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... -headlines
Violence Erupts at O.C. Protest
Crowd gets rough and police swarm in after a Minuteman event in Garden Grove.
By Monte Morin and David Reyes, Times Staff Writers
Three people were injured and at least eight arrested Wednesday in Garden Grove after a motorist drove into a crowd of 300 demonstrators protesting a speech by the founder of the Minuteman Project, authorities said.
The Minuteman Project is a citizens group that patrols the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to stop illegal immigration.
The demonstrators had gathered at the Women's Civic Club of Garden Grove on Chapman Avenue about 7:30 p.m. to protest an appearance by James Gilchrist, charging that he and his group were racist.
Gilchrist has denied those claims and insists the group is stopping only illegal immigration. His talk was sponsored by Citizens for Action Now, an anti-illegal immigration group.
The motorist had attended Gilchrist's speech and was leaving when protesters began hitting his van with placards and other objects, said Garden Grove Police Lt. David Kivler. The driver, who was not identified but spoke to a KCAL-TV Channel 9 reporter, said he gunned his car engine to get away from the crowd. The man was arrested.
Authorities said the incident occurred when 100 listeners attempted to leave through the crowd of demonstrators. Kivler said protesters gathered around one of their cars.
"They surrounded it and started beating on it," Kivler said. Then, a second car tried to get through the crowd as well.
"As he was doing so he hit at least three people," Kivler said. All three were transported to a local hospital. None had major injuries, he said.
Kivler said the crowd grew increasingly boisterous after the injuries.
He said protesters began throwing filled soda cans at the assembled Garden Grove, Anaheim and CHP officers. At least eight people were arrested on suspicion of felony assault, while others were booked for disturbing the peace.
A witness, Eric Garcia, 22, of Anaheim said the evening turned ugly about 9 p.m. after the talk.
He said some protesters were in a driveway when someone in a car tried to leave and made contact with the group. "Then all hell broke loose," Garcia said. "People started throwing things, like rocks and bricks and stuff."
Within minutes, he said, there were about 30 police cars, and dozens of officers on horseback or wearing SWAT gear.
Protester Jose Gonzales, 27, a graduate student at UCLA, said he noticed dozens of additional police officers, some of them on horseback, arriving on the scene. He said they began making arrests and dispersing the crowd, which had been marching in front of the building where Gilchrist was speaking.
"When the meeting let out … police dragged people, men and women," Gonzales said. "There were men and women and children running away…. I ran. I lost my shoe."
By 10 p.m. police ordered the crowd to disperse, saying they were part of an unlawful assembly. If they refused, police said, they would be arrested. Within half an hour, the streets were nearly empty of protesters.
The second article that followed, is a bit less biased.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/05/2 ... 534946.php
Event turns hostile
Anti-illegal immigration activists, protesters clash and a man is arrested after two people are hit by a van.
By MARTIN WISCKOL
The Orange County Register
GARDEN GROVE – An event honoring an anti-illegal immigrant leader Wednesday night was marred by altercations between anti-immigration activists and protesters, resulting in an arrest when two demonstrators were hit by a slow-moving van.
The driver was Hal Netkin of Van Nuys, said Barbara Coe, chairwoman of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform.
Protesters were blocking a driveway when Netkin tried to drive through and knocked two demonstrators to the ground, Deputy Police Chief K.J. Raney said.
Netkin was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. At least one of the protesters was hospitalized.
"Knowing (Netkin), he panicked," Coe said.
Billy Hall, a member of Coe's group, said shortly afterward that his car window was broken by a protester. Hall said he filed a police report.
The event sponsored by Coe's group honored Aliso Viejo resident Jim Gilchrist. Gilchrist's Minuteman Project last month attracted nearly 900 people to patrol a stretch of Arizona border in an effort to stop entry by illegal immigrants. The effort was praised by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger but condemned by President George W. Bush, who called the volunteers "vigilantes."
"I'm damned proud to be a vigilante," Gilchrist told the 150 people assembled at the Garden Grove Women's Club. "How about you?"
He received a rousing ovation. He also said that deporting the millions of people in the country illegally would lower home prices, reduce traffic congestion and lower taxes.
Nearly 100 protesters picketed and chanted on the sidewalk. One sign read, "Beat Back the Racist Attack."
"Their racist acts are being masked by patriotism," said Obed Sanchez of Garden Grove. "To say illegal immigrants are coming over here and ruining our lives is ridiculous. We need immigrants like a tree needs water. Even President Bush recognizes that."
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4537046/detail.html
Man Freed After Driving Into Minuteman Protesters
A man arrested when his car hit two protesters at a speech by the founder of a civilian border-patrol group was free Thursday, but five demonstrators were behind bars, police said.
Harold Edmund Netkin, 69, was initially handcuffed Wednesday night, but was later released without being cited, said Garden Grove Police Lt. Mike Handfield.
Netkin's car was surrounded as he arrived at the Garden Grove Women's Club, 9501 Chapman Ave., and demonstrators rocked the vehicle and banged on it, Handfield said.
"We determined it was reasonable for him to move forward," Handfield said.
Two people who were standing in front of Netkin's car fell down when he moved forward, the sergeant said. One complained of knee and shoulder pain and was taken to a local hospital, he said.
According to broadcast reports, the other also went to the hospital.
Police were aware of the demonstration and had five dozen officers on scene "expecting to keep the peace," Handfield said. But some of the estimated 300 demonstrators were there "not to protest but to commit criminal acts," he said.
"A small contingent of people that were troublemakers had backpacks filled with full cans of soda that they were throwing and also cans filled with marbles that they threw," Handfield said.
Some of the protesters wore rubber gloves and donned sweatshirt hoods pulled tightly so only a small portion of their faces could be seen, he said.
Those arrested were identified by police as Hugo Sarmiento Vanlid, 24, Ivan Obed Silva, 26, Shane William Sparks, 21, Fernando Chirino, 23, and Kurt Takeshi Isobe, 18.
Their cities of residence were not immediately available.
"The case will go to the district attorney, who will have the opportunity to look at all the facts we did," Handfield said.
Prosecutors will look at the actions of both Netkin and the arrested protesters, he added.
About 300 people were outside the club as Minuteman Project founder James W. Gilchrist talked to about the same number of people inside, attendees said.
Handfield said some protesters went inside the meeting and appeared to be using cell phones to communicate with those outside.
"It got out of control in terms of protesters getting violent," he said.
Jan Tucker, chair of the California Association of Licensed Investigators, said he accompanied state and local leaders of the League of United Latin American Citizens to the talk.
He said the atmosphere inside the meeting "was the flip side" of what was happening outside.
"It was extremist inside," Tucker said. "The audience was so hostile inside we were afraid to ask questions."
Attendees who were not members of the club were charged $5 and reportedly had to write down their names, addresses and telephone numbers to get inside.
Tucker said he was not disruptive, but was still asked to leave. After refusing, an officer came over and spoke to him, but Tucker said he still plans to sue the California Coalition for Immigration Reform for allegedly violating his rights "because they tried to get me arrested."
Gilchrist spoke for about 90 minutes, blaming high housing costs and low wages on illegal immigration. He was presented with a cake for his earlier border monitoring, Tucker said.
Tucker said members of LULAC were outside demonstrating, but were strictly cautioned to remain non-violent and to refrain from provoking police.
Tucker said none of the people he spoke to after the event mentioned that Netkin's van was surrounded or was being hit, but insisted that he gunned the car at people.
Handfield said protesters broke a car window of "some innocent person coming to listen" to the talk. Police did not witness the vandalism, and no arrest was made.
At about 10 p.m., officers declared an illegal assembly, ordering the crowd to disperse.
The group, which recently patrolled a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, has announced plans to patrol a portion of the border in California on Aug. 1.
The Minuteman Project has been accused of racism. Gilchrist has denied the charge, saying his group merely wants to stop illegal immigration.
The group has drawn praise from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, but its members were referred to as vigilantes by President George W. Bush.
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