House where effigy of Biden had been hung draws second protest
Demonstrators decry Contra Costa County DA’S decision not to file charges against Trump supporter
BRENTWOOD >> For a second day in a row, a crowd gathered outside a Garin Ranch neighborhood home Friday to protest a pro-Donald Trump display that included a noose-hung effigy of rival Joe Bid en.
The protest Friday night focused on the racial implications of the noose as well as the Contra Costa County district attorney’s decision not to file charges against the person responsible for the display, Eric Harvey.
Following a demonstration at the Brentwood police department, the group of at least 50 protesters marched to the home on Craig Court, where they were met by officers clad in riot gear.
Officers at one point pushed the demonstrators back several feet. Fearing tear gas would be used, some protesters left the area, but many remained, chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot.”
“The city says it doesn’t have enough money for police officers, yet here they are, defending White nationalists !” shouted one demonstrator, Adrian a, who declined to give her la st name .“This is a waste of taxpayer money .”
One person was arrested and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on a charge of battery.
The suspect, described only as a male adult, hit an officer with a stick, said Lt. Walter O’grodnick, adding that the officer was not seriously injured.
“At some point during the protest, there were objects thrown at officers, but no one was seriously injured,” O’grodnick said.
The crowd eventually dispersed and headed to a park. Along the way, protesters blocked traffic on Brent wood Boulevard. Some of the stopped cars along the road honked in solidarity, a few drivers raising their fists as a show of support.
Others yelled at the demonstrators to clear the road, leading to more than one confrontation.
Harvey removed the effigy Thursday after outcry over the display brought officers to his home.
In a video he posted to social media, Harvey said he “had a dummy from Halloween that was hanging by a noose” and decided to display it with a cardboard sign around its neck that read “Sleepy Joe, cheater,” a reference to Biden.
Protesters on Friday said the district attorney’s refusal to file charges against Harvey was the latest signal from law enforcement that it “doesn’t care about people of color.”
The police department said it consulted with the district attorney’ s office about the display and was told in part that“offensive expression is protected under t he First Amendment ,” but it planned to send document at ion of the display to the U.S. Secret Service.
Demonstrators warned that, in the absence of an official response, they would take matters into their own hands.
“As soon as everybody finds out about something like this, people like me who know that this is racist will happily come and protest and be loud and let it be known,” said Patricia Granados of Antioch. “This happened yesterday! And we’re all out here.”