In Coachella's nasty political attacks, anonymous social media accounts are the latest front

Months ahead of Coachella city elections, anonymous social media accounts targeting local officials have popped up, mixing policy criticisms with unsupported personal attacks that allege extramarital affairs, make fun of people's weight and — in one case — mock someone for looking like they shop at Ross.

Coachella Councilmember Neftali Galarza publicly suggested Sunday that he might have unmasked the person behind the accounts: fellow Councilmember Megan Beaman Jacinto.

A day later, Beaman Jacinto responded on Facebook, "For the record: It's not me."

The mysterious social media accounts are the latest turn in a city where politics are already personal: Mayor Steven Hernandez also works as chief of staff for the region's county supervisor, V. Manuel Perez, whose son Ruben Perez is a College of the Desert trustee. Both Hernandez and Ruben Perez have challengers in their reelection bids this fall, and Beaman Jacinto's law firm represents Joel Kinnamon, a trustee candidate challenging Aurora Wilson, an incumbent endorsed by Ruben Perez.

"Coachelanxs" on Instagram and "Coachellx Coachelle" on Facebook seem to be linked, both showing several of the same posts criticizing the city and Hernandez. The Instagram account dates back to April, while the Facebook one appears to have been set up in late August.

Though he'd seen the accounts before, Galarza said he hadn't addressed them sooner, despite spotting posted memes of him and his friends and family, because he said he was too busy with work, family and city council.

Galarza said his suspicion of Beaman Jacinto arose from an Instagram story that targeted Hernandez with insults. According to screenshots he took and shared with The Desert Sun, the post first appeared on Beaman Jacinto's Instagram, vanished, then later resurfaced on the Coachelanxs Instagram.

"I knew that I had to say something about it because I was not only standing up for myself, but I was standing up for everyone that has been bullied by that account," Galarza said. Whoever is posting the memes, he said, has "no regard for the families that they're impacting with this misinformation and lies that they're spreading about affairs and making fun of people's weight."

Galarza called some of the attacks "classist," adding that shopping at Ross isn't a bad thing and he does so himself.

Without citing any evidence, the Coachelanxs and Coachellx Coachelle accounts take jabs at several local officials, including Coachella Mayor Pro Tem Josephine Gonzalez, Coachella Valley Water District Vice President Castulo Estrada and College of the Desert Board Chair Ruben Perez.

Beaman Jacinto told The Desert Sun that she is not responsible. "There are multiple accounts, and no, I don't know who is running them all," she said.

She said the anonymous accounts reflect that "bullying is alive and well in Coachella" and referred to Galarza's suggestion that she could be running them as an example. She added that she's been bullied by some of her colleagues and local leaders in the past, naming Perez and Jesus Gonzalez, former Coachella mayor and current Coachella Valley Unified School District trustee. Gonzalez is also Mayor Pro Tem Josephine Gonzalez's brother.

Perez recently commented under Beaman Jacinto's Facebook post, seemingly accusing her of being mean-spirited and setting up the meme accounts.

In a Facebook post of his own, Jesus Gonzalez hurled insults at Beaman Jacinto, calling her a "wannabe Mexican" and saying she should be "boycotted" and "run out of town." He also suggested it was her and U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz behind the accounts.

Beaman Jacinto said Galarza's accusation has caused her to receive several unpleasant comments like those, as well as threatening messages that are "racially charged" and sexist.

"Women and others who oppose this group of bully politicians' policies, practices and abuse have routinely become targets of the abuse," she said.

Galarza said he does not support any comments that threaten or degrade women. He added: "If people connect the dots and assume it's her because the screenshots are there...I do think it's fair for people to question her and say, 'What's going on here? Are you doing this?' I raised a question, I needed to put it out there. How people reacted is not my fault."

Beaman Jacinto did not address why she apparently posted the same image as the Coachelanxs account on her Instagram stories over the weekend, attacking Hernandez, but Galarza provided a screenshot of a message he sent to Coachellx Coachelle.

In it, Galarza messaged in Spanish, "You have no shame," to which the recipient responded "Why should I Nef?" and said they had sent the image to Beaman Jacinto.

Coachelanxs on Instagram has continued to update stories and currently has 109 followers — among them Beaman Jacinto, Coachella Councilmember Denise Delgado, Palm Springs Councilmember Christy Holstege and a current candidate running for a seat on Coachella council, Yurema Arvizu.

Though Beaman Jacinto earlier in the year announced she would not run for another term on the Coachella council, she will complete her term this year. Of continuing to work with Galarza, she said, "Our council relationships were already strained due to ongoing bullying toward me and Denise Delgado, and this round of harassment and doxing have only made things worse." While doxing implies the sharing of personal information, no such details appear to be posted on the various social media accounts.

For his part, Galarza said, "I've been professional with all of them. I've been civil with all of them. I expect the same."

Both councilmembers ultimately referred to the mysterious accounts and different allegations as "distractions" that won't limit the work they want to put in for Coachella.

On Tuesday morning, another account making fun of Coachella appeared on Instagram under the name "ghost_revolucion," posting memes that mock Hernandez on its stories.

Eliana Perez covers the eastern Coachella Valley. Reach her at eliana.perez@thedesertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella political attacks spread to anonymous social media accounts