Dear Friends & Supporters,
On January 28, a local real estate agent and mother was temporarily blinded after being sprayed directly in the face during an ICE confrontation on the Eastside.
On February 20, in downtown Santa Barbara, a community observer was violently arrested, and 80-year-old attorney Doug Hayes was knocked to the ground and pepper-sprayed while defending the community observer.
Bearing witness is not a crime. Observers have the legal right to monitor law enforcement activity. Transparency is not a threat.
For the past 14 months, we have warned that the real harm in our community is not rapid responders, not observers, not neighbors documenting activity — it is state-sponsored violence, intimidation, and the normalization of excessive force.
What happened yesterday is not who Santa Barbara County is.
We are a county that values ALL residents. Our immigrant neighbors are workers, parents, elders, students, and leaders. We are human beings who deserve to live in communities where we are respected, protected, and able to feel safe.
Violence and intimidation do not represent our values. Dignity and accountability do.
And we will not be intimidated.
