Street vendor activists kept in jail on charges tied to protests
A Superior Court judge on Thursday denied bail again for a group of activists dubbed the “Justice 8” who have been in jail for two weeks facing charges stemming from protests in San Bernardino County and elsewhere.
Prosecutors allege Edin Alex Enamorado and other street vendor advocates have carried out intimidation tactics, showing up at workplaces and homes of people targeted in his social media campaigns, which are intended to publicly shame customers who attack vendors or those who make racist comments.
Enamorado, 36, and seven other activists were arrested Dec. 14 amid what authorities described as a months-long assault investigation after a Sept. 3 protest in L.A. County and another in Victorville on Sept. 24. The investigation grew to involve police from other cities in the Inland Empire, including Upland, Fontana and Pomona, who contended that the suspects were involved in other “violent acts during protests” in those cities.
On his Instagram accounts, which have hundreds of thousands of followers, Enamorado has shared videos of street vendors being harassed, elected officials making racist comments and police making violent arrests.
But San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said after their arrest that the group members had manipulated videos to make themselves look like crusaders. And in doing so, Dicus said, 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 earlier this month, “but rather clickbait for cash.”
Charges against the group include false imprisonment, kidnapping, assault, vandalism and unlawful use of tear gas , according to court documents.
In addition to Enamorado, those arrested were his 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 have been charged with carrying out violent attacks against three victims, according to court documents.
Luhan was not in court Thursday; she is scheduled to appear next week.
A San Bernardino County judge did not set bail for Edin Alex Enamorado and seven other people “due to public safety concerns,” according to a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office.
Prosecutors have repeatedly sought to keep the individuals behind bars, saying they pose a danger to the public. Last week, a judge ordered the group held without bail. At a hearing Thursday, the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office made the same argument.
Judge Melissa Rodriguez granted bail to only one defendant: Acevedo. The schoolteacher was ordered to have no contact with anyone else involved the case, including any alleged victims. Acevedo will be required to wear an ankle monitor and stay off social media.
“No contact means no contact,” Rodriguez said.
The rest of the defendants were held without bail after being found to be a danger to the community as well to as the victims in the case. Prosecutors referenced one image of a piñata with a victim’s face superimposed on the object. Another victim fears that protesters will show up at their home and has gone into hiding, according to prosecutors. A new hearing was scheduled for Jan. 3.
Enamorado’s attorney, Nicholas Rosenberg, said outside the courthouse Thursday he did not agree with the judge’s assessment of his client, calling Enamorado an important member of the community.
“Look, the fight is not over,” Rosenberg said.
Carasco’s attorney, Damon Alimouri, called the court’s no-bail decision “outrageous” and unconstitutional.
Enamorado started out as a political organizer but is known for his activism around street vendors. In June, he posted a TikTok video that since has been removed showing the mess created after a pair of food carts were overturned outside a concert at SoFi Stadium.
Enamorado told The Times he did not witness the incident but the vendors told him a stadium worker instructed them to step back off the street and then lost his temper when they ignored his directives. The worker, who SoFi Stadium officials said was employed by a third-party vendor, was later fired.
In September, Enamorado organized a large protest on the steps of the Santa Barbara Police Department after a viral video showing a racist exchange between a white woman and a Latino man roiled the city.
He and the others in the group face 17 charges in San Bernardino County — the majority of which are felonies — from two September incidents. On Sept. 3, prosecutors say several members chased a security guard into a supermarket and pepper-sprayed him while he was on the ground. They then beat the guard, authorities said. On Sept. 24, Enamorado and the others organized a protest after a viral video showed a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy slamming a girl to the ground during a brawl at a high school football game.
Attorneys representing Enamorado and the other defendants say they were protesting police violence and the harassment of a street vendor at the time.
Times staff writer Jeremy Childs contributed to this report.
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