Activist Edin Enamorado, 7 others arrested, accused of assault in Victorville
A popular activist, who was arrested and released earlier this month for allegedly refusing to leave private property in Apple Valley, was arrested again.
Edin Alex Enamorado, 36, of Upland was arrested along with seven others on Thursday, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff’s officials reported the other arrests as
Wendy Lujan, 40, of Upland
David Chavez, 28, of Riverside
Stephanie Amesquita, 33, of San Bernardino
Edwin Pena 26, of Los Angeles
Gullit Eder Acevedo, 30, of San Bernardino
Fernando Lopez, 44, of Los Angeles
Vanessa Carrasco 40, of Ontario
Sheriff’s officials said the arrests came after detectives from the Victorville sheriff’s station in September began an investigation of a suspected “brutal assault” that occurred in town during a protest.
An investigation by the sheriff’s department and Upland, Fontana and Pomona police departments discovered the group of suspects in the assault were also responsible for other “violent acts” during protests in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.
On Thursday, Dec. 14, search warrants were served at locations in San Bernardino, Upland, Ontario, Riverside, and Los Angeles, police said.
Authorities collected evidence and arrested the eight people. They were booked at the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, conspiracy and other felony charges, sheriff’s officials stated.
All suspects remain in custody without bail, according to the sheriff’s department.
In a press conference on Thursday, Sheriff Shannon Dicus said, “What this group does is not protected by the First Amendment. It’s illegal to assault someone who doesn’t agree with you. In San Bernardino County, I, along with our local chiefs of police will continue to uphold the law and protect citizens from this type of unlawful behavior.”
Dicus claimed the suspects had edited online videos to make themselves look like crusaders against racist people. He added that in reality, the group had harassed the subjects of their videos.
“This group is not about substance for the human condition,” Dicus alleged, “but rather click bait for cash.”
Christian Contreras, an attorney representing those in custody, told the Los Angeles Times the arrests were retaliation for the group’s work as activists exercising their First Amendment rights
“Criticizing elected officials and law enforcement officers should never be criminalized, and that is what the Sheriff’s Department has done in this case,” Contreras said. “I will be in court Monday to fight these baseless charges vigorously.”
Victorville protest
The arrests stemmed from a protest that occurred on September 24, the day after a 16-year-old girl was body-slammed by a sheriff's deputy, after a football game at Victor Valley High School.
Nearly 40 protesters, including Enamorado, marched near the Victorville sheriff's station, demanding to know the name of the deputy who took down the girl.
Protesters left the station and marched along Palmdale Road, where a confrontation occurred near the Mister Car Wash.
On his YouTube livestream, a Hyundai sedan can be seen attempting to leave the car wash. At one point, the driver of the Hyundai is honking at protesters. Then a man is seen getting out of the passenger's side of the car and confronting the protesters.
After the man is knocked to the ground twice, a deputy arrives. Shortly after, the stream ends.
“There was a vehicle that was coming out of the car wash, and they tried to run over protesters,” Enamorado said.
“A man opened the door, hit a woman, and then put his hands on my girlfriend. She defended herself, and they arrested her. They also arrested three other people unlawfully.”
Apple Valley protest
Inside a gated community in Apple Valley, Enamorado and a group of protesters gathered outside the home of a woman who they accused of making racist remarks toward a Latino woman inside a bathroom at Disneyland Resort.
Eva Ramirez claimed the woman began shouting comments at her and her 2-year-old son after they began speaking Spanish.
"I can't believe it's 2023 and we are knee deep in hatred and bigotry, yet this person wasn't even subtle or hiding it," Ramirez wrote in a post on her Instagram account on Dec. 7.
Ramirez stated the woman shouted several racist comments before she started recording the confrontation. One of the comments was "I hate Mexicans, it's true!"
After the video of the confrontation went viral, Enamorado and a group of activists began protesting outside the woman’s home in Apple Valley.
A TikTok video shows the group on the woman’s property filming as Enamorado uses a bullhorn to call the woman out of the home, “Come out with your hands up.”
Using the bullhorn, Enamorado began a chant: 'Whose land?'
A woman in the group can be heard yelling “Your neighbors need to know you’re a racist.”
Others chanted, “Go back to Europe.”
Sheriff's deputies arrived and told the group to get on the ground and that “You're trespassing on private property!”
Several in the group claimed they had permission to be there.
As Enamorado walked toward one deputy, the activist was grabbed and led away while a second deputy knocked a phone out of his hand.
Enamorado was released from custody a few hours later. He was charged with refusing to leave private property, according to the sheriff's department.
Anyone with information regarding the Mister Car Wash incident is urged to contact the Victorville sheriff’s station at 760-241-2911. Callers wishing to remain anonymous should contact We-Tip at 800-78-CRIME (27463) or wetip.com.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Edin Enamorado, group arrested on suspected assault in Victorville
