Fresno residents show support for councilman, after scuffle on apartment doorstep
Members of the Fresno community expressed their support for Councilmember Miguel Arias on Thursday, two days after a confrontation with a group at his home ended with him receiving a citation.
Public speakers during the regular meeting of the Fresno City Council threw their support behind Arias, saying he was being harassed during the confrontation at Arias’ home.
“Councilmember Arias, we stand with you,” resident Yenifer Gallegos-Mejia said during the meeting on Zoom. “We are not going to let this continue in our community. White nationalists are not welcome here.”
Arias was cited for an alleged misdemeanor battery Tuesday evening after the group showed up to his apartment blaming him for the businesses that are closed during the coronavirus pandemic. Video of the incident showed Arias pushing at least one person on the stairs to his apartment. His two young children were inside at the time.
Among the people who confronted Arias on Tuesday was Ben Bergquam, who runs a Facebook page called Frontline America and organized last week’s Freedom Rally protesting the shelter order.
Lisa Flores, a resident who participated in Thursday’s Zoom meeting, said she didn’t understand how Arias could be cited at his home for dealing with the confrontation, while a protester at north Fresno’s The Waffle Shop was not cited on Sunday as he blocked code enforcement and police officers doing their jobs.
Some union representatives also showed their support for Arias. No person, not even an elected official, deserves to be confronted at home, said Sam Frank, president of the Fresno City Employees Association union.
“The trespassing of a large mob of uninvited and unannounced (people) taunting him, banging on his door, scaring his kids,” said Frank, who pointed out he’s a Republican and Christian. “I want to say it’s disgusting what they did.”
Mariah C. Thompson said she was speaking on behalf of the California Central Valley National Lawyers Guild in showing concern for how police handled the confrontation.
“The National Lawyers guild stands in solidarity with Councilmember Arias against all forms of white supremacy,” she said.
“We are concerned that when Mr. Arias called for help, what happened was he was the one given citations when police arrived,” she said. “There’s a long history in the United States that continues to today of people of color calling the police seeking help and are the targets of police violence.”
Arias thanked speakers but otherwise said nothing about the incident during the public comment portion of the meeting.
In a statement he issued late Wednesday, Arias said he has continued to receive threatening phone calls after police left his home. He also thanked people on both sides of the political aisle for reaching out to him and expressing support.
Arias has also said video of the incident doesn’t tell the whole story, and that members of the group tried to force their way into his home, while his children were present.
“I want to thank all those who have reached out and shown our city will not allow a handful of outsiders to tear us apart,” he said in a statement.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 2:22 PM.
