‘Go home, Nazi.’ Protesters interrupt, get tossed from Sacramento City Council meeting

The Sacramento City Council meeting Tuesday fell into disarray for nearly an hour when protesters clashed over an attendee who had made racist remarks during public comments the week before.

The meeting was adjourned for recess twice as council leaders tried to wrest control away from audience members who had confronted Ryan Messano, a 43-year-old Solano County man who was seated in the chamber with three other men.

The first interruption came 90 minutes into the meeting, around 6:30 p.m., after Mayor Darrell Steinberg made comments following a presentation on the city and county’s agreement to address the homelessness crisis.

The confrontations followed when a homeless advocate shouted at and pushed two people seated with Messano in the back row of the chambers.

“Get the f--- out of here, you f------ Nazi,” the man said as police officers stepped forward to quell the unrest.

During the entirety of the meeting, Messano kept saying he wanted “to have a conversation” about World War II. He claimed he had read 7,000 books at one point and continuously told people to read more about the war.

“I’m not a Nazi. I never claimed to be a Nazi,” Messano told The Bee outside chambers. “So this whole thing is, I’m being lied about as racist and bigot. This is the result of a lot of propaganda. It’s very unfortunate because it creates tension in the community and it’s extremely dangerous and divisive.”

Also in attendance was Jeffrey Erik Perrine who was previously identified by The Sacramento Bee as a member of the far-right group Proud Boys.

The meeting was adjourned a second time at 7:02 p.m. as Councilman and Vice Mayor Eric Guerra asked Sacramento police officers to clear the chamber. At 7:16 p.m., Keyan Bliss, the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission vice chair, ushered the last protesters out as interrupters continued to stand behind a wall of police officers. At this point, Perrine asked, “Do we get to speak now, or what?”

The meeting resumed with all but one council member and a handful of government representatives at 7:30 p.m. Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela was not present, saying in a social media post that she was traveling on personal business.

Steinberg spoke about the city’s homelessness crisis for roughly 30 minutes before the protesting began. He was interrupted four times. After the third interruption, City Clerk Mindy Cuppy spoke at length about the rules of conduct within the chamber.

The council meeting resumed with public comment being taken via phone calls. Many of the callers expressed frustration over the situation, including one person who suggested the meeting be canceled.

Council members react

Steinberg issued a statement Tuesday about the meeting’s disruption. He said while “bigots and racists have a First Amendment right to spew their hate” they had “no right to incite violence.”

“No one, no matter their point of view, has the right to disrupt the public’s business or make it impossible for others to participate,” he said.

He said if disruptions continue, the city will attempt to ensure safety within the chamber, even if that means public comment is issued temporarily by Zoom or phone.

“This is the imperfect balance we must strike to assure there is a viable and safe way for everyone to participate in our council,” he said.

Councilwoman Lisa Kaplan, who represents North Natomas and is Jewish, said that she did not feel safe in the meeting around 6:30 p.m. on social media. She said it is appropriate to recess the meeting.

Councilwoman Caity Maple said she stood in solidarity with Kaplan and that the City Council meetings have experienced an “influx” of hate in recent weeks.

Councilwoman Karina Talamantes said Sacramento is no place for hate of any kind.

“Council gets disrupted sometimes,” she said on social media. “Usually it’s for no more than a few minutes. Tonight, our council meeting came to a halt due to the hatred of a few anti-Semitic and racist individuals.”

Messano spoke at previous council meeting

The disruption was the second in as many meetings involving Messano, who came to the May 16 meeting and spoke during public comment on the city’s budget.

He began his allotted two minutes with tax concerns. A minute and a half in, the crowd erupted when he began making comments about white supremacy and the races of council members.

Steinberg, who is Jewish, interjected moments later when Messano began spouting antisemitic tropes.

“OK, see you later, pal,” the mayor said. “We don’t want to hear any more from you.”

As chants grew against Messano, Steinberg proceeded to turn his chair away from Messano and stare at the wall.

Messano then said he had the First Amendment on his side and asked for 30 seconds to close because of the interruption. The crowd again roared in protest.

Steinberg turned around and struck his gavel three times.

“You’ll get time,” he said to a protester in the crowd.

He turned his chair again.

Thirty seconds were placed back on the clock.

When time expired again, Steinberg spoke up.

“Your time is up,” he said. “Sit down! Get out! We don’t want you.”

“I’d like to remind members of the audience, please do not disrupt the orderly conduct of this meeting,” Cuppy said after Messano had left the podium. “Because he was interrupted, he got additional time.”

The Bee’s Renée C. Byer contributed to this story.