Middle School Teacher Charged with Inciting Antifa Riot Gets Hit with Bad News from Judge
Calling everything a conspiracy seems to be all the rage these days — just take a look at how many people still blame President Donald Trump’s victory on some vague Russian plot.
That’s the same basic tactic that a far-left activist in California tried to use to defend her alleged role in inciting a riot, but a judge just told her that blaming others for her actions isn’t going to work.
Berkeley middle school teacher and liberal activist Yvette Felarca is connected to a group known as “By Any Means Necessary,” or BAMN. As you might guess by that name, the organization is radical and apparently believes that almost any action — including violence — are justified in stopping political opponents.
BAMN has close ties to Antifa, the often violent group that has staged protests and clashed with the alt-right over the last several years.
Felarca is facing serious charges: Assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, and inciting a riot. Those crimes allegedly occurred when BAMN and Antifa protesters attacked a far-right group near the California state capitol building in 2016.
The group that BAMN came to disrupt had the correct permits to hold a political rally; Felarca and others accused of violence did not.
“The melee resulted in multiple people suffering serious injuries, including stab wounds,” reported The Daily Wire. “Video footage of the event shows Felarca, who has a history of radical activism, engaged in the violence.”
How do you argue with video evidence showing you attacking people? Well, one way is to claim it was a setup. That’s exactly what Felarca did.
“The Antifa activists’ attorneys filed a motion for dismissal claiming that the DA and the California Highway Patrol colluded against them in what they describe as a politically-motivated ‘witchunt,'” Daily Wire stated.
It didn’t work. Sacramento County Judge Michael Savage threw that argument out on Friday, and essentially called the claim rubbish.
“Simply nothing in these exhibits supports the defendants’ claims … that they were unjustly or unfairly culled out,” Savage said.
The district attorney in the case had similar words, and pointed out that the charges against Felarca and other far-left rioters had nothing to do with their politics, and everything to do with the evidence of them committing the crimes.
“That’s not why they were charged,” Sacramento County deputy district attorney Paris Coleman said regarding the political beliefs of the suspects.
Over a hundred arrest warrants were issued after that riot broke out, but only a handful of people ended up being charged due to lack of evidence. The district attorney’s office pursued charges for the individuals with the most evidence against them, such as video proof.
“They are captured on video committing crimes, unfortunately for them,” Coleman continued, according to Berkeleyside.
There’s no disputing that the far-right group Felarca and the others allegedly attacked hold controversial and even ugly views, but they were just that… views. Exercising free speech while following the law and obtaining the necessary permits must be something that Americans protect.
The way to defeat foul ideas is by shining a light on them, and exposing why they are wrong. Stabbing people who are speaking begets only more hatred.
Felarca and others on the far left may believe that actions don’t have consequences, but the video speaks for itself. Perhaps she should have thought more carefully before she participated in bloody attacks on people engaging in their right to assemble.
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