Emotional reactions from both sides to controversial verdict.
The latest proof that San Francisco exists in a Left Coast bubble was evident in the contrasting opinions over the notguilty verdicts in the Kate Steinle murder trial.
Inside the city, it’s hard to find anyone of influence who condemned the verdicts. Outside, the tweet storms and cableshow rants hit hurricane level.
“It was San Francisco sanctuary city policy that killed Kate Steinle,” Fox News personality Sean Hannity thundered on his show after the jury acquitted an oft-deported undocumented immigrant from Mexico, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, of murder and manslaughter charges.
The Twitter hashtag #BoycottSanFrancisco took off, and a staffer for the public defender’s office — which represented Garcia Zarate — posted on Facebook that the office has received “hundreds of hate messages” since the verdict. A representative of the Hotel Council of San Francisco said “a handful” of people have canceled room reservations, citing the jury’s decision.
Local leaders who weighed in on the verdict expressed sympathy for Steinle’s family, said the jury process worked the way it was supposed to and denounced President Trump and other conservatives who cited the case as proof that the U.S. has to “build the wall” and take other steps to rein in illegal immigration.
“People have every right to be critical of the verdict and speak out about that,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. But “the president is using this to fan the flames of hatred against immigrants, to demonize immigrants.”
Former state Sen. Mark Leno, who is running to succeed Ed Lee as mayor, lamented the “tragic story” of Steinle’s death but excoriated Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions for layering it with politics. “They have no shame. And they’re not done,” he said.
The president fired off three tweets about the verdict Thursday night and Friday morning, calling the jury’s decision “disgraceful” and a “complete travesty of justice.” Sessions issued a statement blaming San Francisco’s policy of limiting cooperation with federal immigration officials for Steinle’s death.
Lee declined to comment. His spokeswoman, Ellen Canale, said simply, “San Francisco is and always will be a sanctuary city.”
Fifty candles flickered in the wind Friday in San Francisco near the spot on Pier 14 where Steinle died. Dozens of red and white roses and other flowers were piled on a bench. Some had notes attached to them, and some of those notes were angry. Several items appeared to have been left by people inspired by a self-proclaimed “altright” group.
Some passers-by called Garcia Zarate a killer. Others said he was a scapegoat.
Lisa Lea, 42, of San Francisco, said Garcia Zarate “shouldn’t be here.”
“I definitely feel the system failed her,” Lea said of Steinle. “This is a guy who’s been deported.”
Her partner, Tom Chu, 44, said he understood the jury’s verdict.
“It’s easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, without being in the jury room,” he said. “Everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon, not knowing what’s going on. It’s such a tragic story, and then the president had to tweet.”
Marilyn Kennick of San Francisco said Garcia Zarate should have been convicted of the killing and said the acquittal was a “rough deal” that put San Francisco “in a bad light.”
Jonathan Simon, director of the UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Law and Society, said that but for a few key factors that pushed it to the zenith, the Steinle killing would have never made it past local headlines.
“If it wasn’t for the Trump factor in particular, this would have never taken off,” Simon said. “These tragedies happen all the time, but they don’t give the same sense that society has gone amok like this one has been made up to.”