Watch: The (Masked) Face of Tyranny on the Streets of Santa Barbara; Laura vs. Sheriff; Rent Freeze; Homeless Center
A cowardly pepper spray attack on a woman exercising her First Amendment rights on the Eastside prompts community pushback in SB, as Trump's fascist crusade grows ever more violent.
The nation’s attention this week focused on the spectacle of murderous federal agents gunning down citizens in Minneapolis, even as the masked violence of the Trump Administration – and civil society’s opposition to it – manifest in Santa Barbara.
On a new episode of Newsmakers TV, Ryan P. Cruz, Josh Molina and Nick Welsh join the genial host to discuss their latest reporting about immigration authorities invading the Eastside, community protests that arose in response — and the precarious role that local law enforcement is playing amid simmering conflict.
Early Wednesday, one of the masked thugs dispatched by U.S. immigration authorities to stake out and harass brown people in Santa Barbara, let fly a thick stream of pepper spray into the face of an Eastside community monitor, who was standing on the street to record his actions. Fellow observers from immigrant rights groups captured the incident on video, and sent it to local news organizations, resulting in coverage of varying degrees of urgency and clarity, by the News-Press, the Independent and Noozhawk.
In a week when hundreds gathered at the waterfront for a silent vigil to honor Renee Good and Alex Pretti, executed on the street in Minneapolis while similarly monitoring the violent behavior of federal agents, the Santa Barbara event set off a cascading series of protests and boycotts. It not only prompted calls for local law enforcement officials to come to the aid of citizens faced with increasingly rogue tactics of undisciplined federal authorities, behavior that fits every historical and political definition of fascism, but also included a call-out of Sheriff Bill Brown by Supervisor Laura Capps.
Our all-star panel of top local journalists also breaks down the latest in the week’s other big stories, from the rent freeze imposed on property owners by the SB City Council, the latest iteration of a plan for the future of State Street, and a resolution, at least for now, in the debate over management of the city’s homeless navigation center.
Plus: fond farewells to two lifelong community heroes: Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto and former Supervisor Frank Frost, who recently passed away. RIP.
All this and more, right here, right now, on Newsmakers TV.
Check out Episode 543 via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. Our podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, or on Soundcloud here. TVSB, Channel 17, airs the show every weeknight at 5 p.m. and at 9 a.m. on weekends. KCSB, 91.9 FM, broadcasts the program at 5:30 p.m. on weekends.
Image: Santa Barbara News-Press.