Street vendor activists accused of violence are held without bail by San Bernardino County judge

Edin Alex Enamorado, who grew a large social media following as an activist for street vendors and other marginalized groups, will be held without bail along with seven other people facing charges of violence during protests, a San Bernardino County judge decided Monday.

The eight people were arrested Thursday morning on search warrants following what authorities called a months-long assault investigation. Enamorado, 36, of Upland was charged with false imprisonment, kidnapping, assault, unlawful use of tear gas, vandalism and other counts, according to court documents; the other defendants were hit with similar charges.

Prosecutors did not provide a fuller account of the alleged crimes, citing the ongoing investigation. The others charged are Enamorado’s partner, Wendy Lujan, 40, of Upland; David Chavez, 28, of Riverside; Stephanie Amesquita, 33, of San Bernardino; Gullit Eder Acevedo, 30, of San Bernardino; Edwin Pena, 26, of Los Angeles; Fernando Lopez, 44, of Los Angeles; and Vanessa Carrasco, 40, of Ontario.

All pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday morning in a San Bernardino County courtroom. Judge Shannon Faherty did not set bail and ordered them held in police custody, with the next court date set for Dec. 28, according to court records.

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No bail was set “due to public safety concerns,” said Jacquelyn Rodriguez, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office, adding that the Sheriff’s Department requested the no-bail hold.

On his Instagram accounts, Enamorado shared videos of harassment of street vendors, racist comments by elected officials and violent police arrests to hundreds of thousands of followers.

But San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus alleged that the suspects had manipulated videos to make themselves look like crusaders against racist people. In reality, he claimed, they harassed the subjects of their videos to gain attention, views and financial profit.

“This group is not about substance for the human condition,” Dicus said during a news conference, “but rather clickbait for cash.”

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Days before the eight were arrested last week, Enamorado was arrested and released from police custody during a protest outside an Apple Valley home connected to a woman who was recorded shouting anti-Mexican remarks to a woman and her son in a Disneyland bathroom. San Bernardino County deputies handcuffed Enamorado, and he was booked on suspicion of trespassing.

Last week’s arrests stemmed from an investigation into a Sept. 3 protest at which the defendants allegedly had a PepperBall gun and/or pepper spray and blocked a person from leaving the scene in a vehicle, as well as an alleged assault at a Sept. 24 protest in Victorville, according to the charging documents. Law enforcement agencies from San Bernardino, Pomona, Fontana, Upland and Victorville joined the investigation.

During a news conference outside the courthouse, Enamorado’s attorney, Christian Contreras said his client and the other defendants were targeted by law enforcement for protesting against police violence.

“San Bernardino County and these law enforcement agencies are criminalizing 1st Amendment activity,” Contreras said. “They are criminalizing the right to protest. They are criminalizing the right to call out the elected officials, and they are criminalizing their critics.”

When reached for comment Tuesday, Contreras said he was not allowed to represent his client during the court hearing Monday. He claims that his client’s name was not listed on the court docket, and when he arrived to the courtroom, the hearing was already underway.

“I objected twice on behalf of my client,” Contreras said, but he was told to remain seated by Faherty. “For anyone who knows criminal law, you can’t just move ahead with a hearing without a lawyer.”

A transcript from the hearing shows that Enamorado was assigned a public defender by the court, but none was present in the courtroom. Contreras filed a motion to represent Enamorado, according to the court docket, and he is seeking other legal representation for the other defendants in the case.