The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a social media page that recently posted a political cartoon that allegedly encouraged violence against public officials and their families, according to authorities.
The Facebook page known as “Benito Beet Beat” published the post on Nov. 3. The post depicted animated images of people—some ostensibly resembling county officials—gathered below a sign that read “BEHAVIORAL HEALTH.” A caption at the top of the cartoon said, “Supervisors make a surprise visit to behavioral health and find a surprise…”
Each of the characters in the cartoon post displayed a thought or speech bubble, one of which read, “Voices are telling me I need to hurt a supervisor or his kids!”
The post has since been removed from the page.
The page does not publicly identify who owns, manages or administers the content, which consists mostly of political cartoons related to local public officials and issues. The page information categorizes it as “Satire/Parody.”
The sheriff’s special intelligence unit is investigating the post, Sheriff’s Lt. Breyon Canez said. The ongoing investigation will include efforts to determine who was responsible for creating and posting the allegedly threatening content.
“Our team is looking into it and I trust that they’ll do a thorough and proper investigation,” Canez said.
County officials briefly discussed the potential threat at the Nov. 4 supervisor meeting, where Board Chair Kollin Kosmicki called for a full criminal investigation.
Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez, who is the target of a current recall election campaign, said, “It’s disgusting, and we as a community need to stand up to this type of behavior.”
County Attorney Gregory Priamos agreed that the Nov. 3 post appeared to be encouraging violence, and noted that threatening content is not protected as free speech.
“These are criminal actions, so these are under investigation,” Priamos said. “We will seek to identify who these individuals are, who are the responsible parties and, if necessary, we will pursue a civil restraining order against these individuals in order to protect public officials and their families.”
This newspaper reached out to Benito Beet Beat admin for comment, but has not received a reply.
Local resident Rob Bernosky, a former elected public official, addressed the alleged threat during public comment at the Nov. 4 meeting. Bernosky also condemned the post and stressed the importance of finding out who is responsible for the Benito Beet Beat content in question.
“That was the darkest moment I have ever witnessed in this county,” said Bernosky, who has been active in local and state politics for many years.
On Nov. 4, after the issue came up at the public board of supervisors meeting, Benito Beat Beet posted an “Apology Statement” regarding the allegedly threatening content. “While our intention was to use satire to highlight civic issues, we recognize that the cartoon image was misconstrued by some as advocating for violence. That was never our aim,” the Nov. 4 statement said, in part. “We deeply regret any distress this may have caused.”
