A group of six activists accused of attacking people they say were harassing street vendors in Southern California reached a plea deal with prosecutors on Friday.
The six defendants, part of a group of eight led by co-defendant Edin Alex Enamorado, were charged with felony assault, conspiracy to commit a crime, unlawful use of tear gas and false imprisonment, among other charges, according to county prosecutors. of San Bernardino.
They pleaded guilty Friday to assault by force likely to produce great bodily injury and were given credit for time served in custody, according to court records. Prosecutors have not yet reached a deal with the two remaining defendants, Enamorado, who remains in prison, and Gullit Eder Acevedo, who is free on bail.
In recent years, Enamorado, 36, has organized protests outside the homes and workplaces of people he believes deserve public shaming, either because they were recorded saying something racist or because they were accused of attacking street vendors.
But in December, Enamorado and the seven others were arrested and accused of carrying out a series of violent attacks and intimidation tactics during protests in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. The group was charged with multiple felonies in connection with three separate incidents that took place in September.
On Friday, Enamorado couple Wendy Luján, Vanessa Carrasco, Stephanie Amesquita, David Chávez and Fernando López pleaded guilty to felony assault charges, according to court records. Edwin Peña, another named defendant, pleaded no contest to the same charge.
Lujan, Carrasco and Amesquita were ordered to report to a county probation officer, according to court records. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for early December.
County prosecutors accused the group of carrying out acts of violence under the guise of protest. Enamorado's attorney, Nicholas Rosenberg, said prosecutors and authorities were singling out his client because of his vocal criticism of police.
During pretrial hearings in January, prosecutors played a video of Enamorado livestreaming outside the Pomona Police Department, where he demanded to speak to an on-duty guard commander. Enamorado was upset because a security guard attacked a street vendor outside a Pomona supermarket and police had not arrested a suspect several days later.
“We will hold him accountable,” Enamorado said in the livestream where he chastised the police for not investigating the attack.
Prosecutors said Enamorado's style of accountability was a combination of “ritualized harassment to gain notoriety” and violence under the guise of activism.
Rosenberg told reporters outside Victorville Superior Court that his client intended to hold the security guard accountable for his actions.
“Holding accountable means firing bad actors,” Rosenberg said. “My client has been instrumental in getting bad actors fired in the past.”
Prosecutors said that after Enamorado shared video of the attack, he and the other activists confronted the guard on Sept. 3 while he was sitting in his car and then again when he approached the group while they were protesting outside a supermarket in Pomona where he worked. . Prosecutors allege that some of those same activists later beat the guard inside the market and sprayed him with pepper spray.
The case against Enamorado and the other defendants also included two other incidents.
On Sept. 24, Enamorado and other protesters blocked the entrance to the San Bernardino County sheriff's station in Victorville, prosecutors allege, and at least one off-duty sheriff's deputy felt threatened when the group approached his vehicle. civil. The group's rally focused on a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy accused of body-slamming a 16-year-old girl at a high school football game. The incident was captured on video and shared by Enamorado and his followers.
Two other men who were simply too close to protesters were also attacked, prosecutors allege. One victim was at a Pomona police station on Sept. 3 and the other confronted protesters as they walked in front of his wife's car near a car wash in Victorville on Sept. 24.
“The actions of these groups, despite their message, tear at the fabric of society,” said San Bernardino County Deputy District Attorney. Jason Wilkerson said during a court hearing in January.
Enamorado attracted widespread attention on TikTok and Instagram for his viral videos that drew attention to episodes in which people attacked street vendors, made racist comments, or engaged in acts of police violence. After the group's arrest in December, Enamorado supporters referred to the activists as the Justice 8.
Rosenberg did not immediately respond to requests for comment on his client's case. He is due to return to court on August 9.
