Business owner said Hollister activists assaulted her during
Friday ‘Freedom Rally’
Conservative activists Marvin Jones and his wife, Reba Jones,
were charged last week with violating the civil rights of another
citizen in Hollister.
The alleged incident happened at a weekly
”
Freedom Rally
”
that a handful of supporters for President George Bush and the
war in Iraq hold on Friday’s in downtown Hollister.
Business owner said Hollister activists assaulted her during Friday ‘Freedom Rally’
Conservative activists Marvin Jones and his wife, Reba Jones, were charged last week with violating the civil rights of another citizen in Hollister.
The alleged incident happened at a weekly “Freedom Rally” that a handful of supporters for President George Bush and the war in Iraq hold on Friday’s in downtown Hollister.
The alleged victim, whose name is being withheld, signed an affidavit this week claiming Jones and his wife physically pushed and yelled at her when she complained that their pro-war signs were obstructing the window of her tax preparation business. With the affidavit, District Attorney John Sarsfield decided to charge the Jones with violating the woman’s civil rights.
The rallies occur every Friday on the corners of Fourth and San Benito streets in downtown Hollister. On one corner next to the village green are the “People in Black,” who stand silent with signs questioning Bush’s domestic wiretapping and the war in Iraq. On the other side of the street, in front of The Pinnacle Building, the American flag-clad pro-war activists play patriotic tunes on a boom box and wave placards and flags in support of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Mentioned in the complaint are the regular attendees of the afternoon Freedom Rally, including District 3 supervisor candidate Ron “Stubby” Stubblefield, Sally Bettencourt – wife of county Planning Commissioner Richard Bettencourt – Rebecca Jones, daughter of Reba and Marvin Jones, and Eva Reyna.
The standoff, until now a peaceful demonstration of differing political convictions, has been going on since before the war started in 2003.
The incident allegedly occurred during the rally of Dec. 16, at about 4:45 p.m. In her signed affidavit, the victim said she noticed four signs leaning against the windows of her office as she approached the entrance. She said she asked Marvin Jones to remove the signs, and when he refused, saying, “This is public property,” the woman removed them herself.
“In a rage he ran towards me, grabbed me by the collar then banged me and pinned me against the window hovering over me,” wrote the alleged victim, who is of Hispanic-Chinese nationality. She wrote that Jones screamed at her, “You are going to get in a lot of trouble.”
“I was in shock, I was so frightened,” she continued. In her statement, she wrote that she kept trying to remove the signs from her windows but that Jones followed her around “in her face,” continuing to yell at her. She told him to, “Stay away from me.”
Jones was very willing to talk about the incident, and admitted, “I got in her face but I did not touch her. I said ‘you’re messing with private property and you’re not supposed to do that.’ But we moved the signs. We did what she wanted us to.”
According to the victim, the women of the rally took notice of the scene and decided to join in. One, whom the alleged victim recognized as Jones’ wife, Reba, told the victim they had permission from another business owner to stage their rally in front of the building. Suddenly, claims the woman, Reba became “enraged” and yelled at her, “Go back to where you come from, go, go, go do your taxes.”
The affidavit said several women “shoved ‘Merry Christmas’ signs” in her face while shouting, “Have a Merry Christmas!”
“I went inside my office,” the victim wrote. “I was so upset I could not believe what had happened to me. My shoulders and neck hurt me so bad, [and] I was in pain.”
Jones said a police officer took a report some days after the altercation. However, Sarsfield confirmed that the victim said she is disappointed in the lack of assistance she has received from the police. She says her many calls to the department have gone unanswered.
Jones’ wife, Reba, declined to speak with a reporter, but answered questions put to her, through her husband, over a phone call.
“There were women there that had signs saying ‘Have a Merry Christmas,'” Jones confirmed. “My wife says she stood next to me and did not touch the woman.”
“She (Reba) may have said something like ‘go do your taxes,'” Jones said. “She said it bordered on juvenile.”
D.A. Sarsfield likened it to racist bullying.
“My office is committed to protecting the civil rights of the people in this county,” Sarsfield said. “The days of violence and intimidation are over, whether it’s by the LVs [the anonymous Los Valientes] or whether it’s by Doctor Jones and his band of cult-like followers.”
Jones said Sarsfield is being vindictive.
“He is willing to spend county money on petty, frivolous, vindictive actions against people who have crossed him in the past,” Jones said. “When he ran three years ago I supported him and put signs in my front yard for him.”
The complaint filed by Sarsfield is asking the courts to fine the Jones up to $25,000 in civil penalties.
