Tran’s Attorneys Claim D.A. Has Shown Bias, Want Office Off Case

Attorneys for Truong Van Tran, who sparked sometimes-violent protests in the Vietnamese community by hanging Communist symbols in his Westminster video store, asked a judge Monday to remove the Orange County district attorney’s office from the video piracy case pending against him.

As evidence that newly elected Dist. Atty. Anthony J. Rackauckas lacks objectivity in the case, Tran’s attorney cited Rackauckas’ appearance last month at a political rally for protesters in front of Tran’s store. During the gathering, Rackauckas praised protesters.

“By publicly announcing his support of the protesters . . . the district attorney has thus evidenced his personal animosity and bias toward the defendant,” attorney Ron Talmo wrote in papers supporting Tran’s motion.

Rackauckas’ office plans to contest the motion at a May 14 hearing. Rackauckas’ appearance at the rally does not prevent his office from fairly prosecuting the case, officials said.

“We’re handling this case like any other case,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Wagner, who is overseeing Tran’s prosecution and other charges related to the protests.

Tran’s display of a Communist flag and a poster of Ho Chi Minh in the now-closed video store sparked two months of demonstrations involving thousands of protesters in Little Saigon. Tran was struck on the head twice and egged once by protesters when he appeared at his store.

At a March 3 rally, political leaders including Orange County Republican Party Chairman Tom Fuentes and Assemblyman Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove) presented protesters with a resolution from the state Republican Party commending them and calling on Tran to remove the display.

When Rackauckas spoke at the rally, he stressed that as a law enforcement official he vowed to protect Tran’s 1st Amendment rights to free speech. He also praised protesters’ “message.”

“That message is that you’re living here in a free society and that you’re prosperous and that you’re strong, and that you reject communism,” Rackauckas told the cheering crowd. “That you’re able to prosper in these United States and you have no need for these Communist symbols here. I’m proud to be here in this community and I’m proud to be part of this message.”

Two days after the rally, police raided Tran’s store and confiscated what they said were more than 17,000 tapes that were illegal copies of Asian soap operas. Tran was arrested a week later and has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of video piracy.

Seven misdemeanor cases have been filed against allegedly unruly protesters, including Hungky Le, 32, of Garden Grove, who is awaiting trial on charges that he struck Tran on Jan. 18. Of those cases, four people have pleaded guilty to throwing rocks and bottles at police officers, and received jail terms of between 15 and 34 days, said Tori Richards a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office.

No prosecuting decision has been made yet on whether to go forward with nine other cases involving protesters who allegedly threw rocks and bottles at officers, or interfered with law enforcement during the demonstrations.

Rackauckas’ office dropped charges against 32 others who were arrested during the protests on a variety of misdemeanor charges. Prosecutors cited a lack of evidence in those cases.

“There was a lot of confusion at the scene,” Richards said. “A lot of these people were arrested because the police were trying to keep the peace.”