District Attorney John Sarsfield filed a civil rights lawsuit
against a group of political demonstrators Wednesday alleging they
attacked a downtown business owner, and is asking that they be
banned from picketing in front of her business.
Hollister – District Attorney John Sarsfield filed a civil rights lawsuit against a group of political demonstrators Wednesday alleging they attacked a downtown business owner, and is asking that they be banned from picketing in front of her business.
The lawsuit alleges Freedom Rally leader Marvin Jones, who heads the group that protests for support of United States troops every Friday on San Benito and Fourth streets, violated a business owner’s civil rights by pushing her up against a wall during an argument last month about the placement of picket signs in front of her business. The lawsuit also names Jones’ wife, Reba, as a defendant because she allegedly told the woman of Hispanic-Chinese-American descent to “go back where you came from,” according to court documents.
Jones denies the allegations and said he looks forward to going to court to prove his innocence. The lawsuits asks for a restraining order prohibiting the defendants from coming within 30 yards of the alleged victim. That means if Sarsfield proves that both Jones and his wife violated the alleged victim’s civil rights, they would be banned from demonstrating on the corner where they have picketed for the last three years.
“This has nothing to do with the content of their speech – we’re doing this to stop racially-motivated violence,” Sarsfield said. “Their right to protest ends when they start laying hands on people and hurling racial insults.”
While Jones and his wife are the primary defendants named in the group, if Sarsfield is victorious everyone in the Freedom Rally group would be prohibited from demonstrating on that corner.
Jones and members of the Freedom Rally group meet weekly on the northwest corner of San Benito and Fourth streets to demonstrate their support for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the opposite street corner, an anti-war group, called Hollister in Black, gathers for similar demonstrations. The victim, who is not identified in the lawsuit for fear of retaliation, owns a tax preparation company near where the group demonstrates.
Jones said he was “mildly surprised” when he learned about the lawsuit on Wednesday.
“I agree with Mr. Sarsfield – if people are using ethnic slurs or pushing people, that crosses the line,” he said. “But that did not happen.”
Jones said he never touched the woman and didn’t realize that “she was a person of color,” adding there are people of differing ethnicity’s in the Freedom Rally group.
“She said (the signs) blocked her window and started throwing the signs on the ground,” Jones said. “I stepped in front of her blocking other signs that were leaning against the wall and told her that was private property she was moving and she should not do that.”
The alleged victim could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Although the incident was reported to Hollister Police at the time, police stopped their investigation after learning that the victim did not want to press charges, Capt. Richard Vasquez said. Sarsfield said the woman brought the incident to his attention because she wasn’t pleased with the police department’s response.
Sarsfield has not filed criminal charges against Jones or his wife.
“It’s easier to prosecute civilly than criminally – because it’s a much lower burden of proof,” he said.
In a criminal trial the district attorney must prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, but in a civil trial the charges need to be more likely true than not, Sarsfield said.
Hollister resident Deborah Wianecki, a member of Hollister in Black, did not witness the incident and said it wouldn’t affect the group.
“We’d still be there,” she said. “We were there first.”
In addition to banning members of the Freedom Rally group from picketing in front of the alleged victim’s home and business, the lawsuit asks for $25,000 in penalties for civil rights violations, according to court documents.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
