In downtown Santa Monica, preparations are underway ahead of a planned protest at Palisades Park on Saturday. Some businesses have begun boarding up their storefronts, a soft launch of the city’s new Entertainment Zone is scheduled for 11am today and federal authorities have regained control of National Guard troops following a legal back-and-forth, all of which have prompted comparisons to the city’s 2020 unrest.
Police Chief Ramon Batista spoke to the community during a Zoom briefing arranged by the City’s Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. “This is not 2020,” Batista said, adding, “We’ve come a long way in the technology and the number of staff and personnel that we have assigned to the day. We have more support than we had that day back in 2020.”
Batista said SMPD has coordinated with the event’s organizers, the Santa Monica Democratic Club and emphasized that the city supports the right to peaceful protest. However, he also warned of the potential for bad actors to infiltrate the event, as seen in other cities.
“Our role in that situation will be to respond to that and keep it at bay and allow for the free speech event to continue,” Batista said. “That does not mean that we’re not going to have an eye on Montana, downtown, Main Street, the pier.”
He reiterated this sentiment once again to guests and media at the Santa Monica Travel and Tourism summit also held on Thursday at the Johnathan Beach Club in which Batista received an award.
News of immigration raids have even been reported on by the BBC at the Westchester Hand Wash, a car wash located just a few miles east of Santa Monica. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents reportedly pulled up in marked vehicles last Sunday and arrested several workers in full view of customers, setting off panic that was caught on CCTV and obtained by the BBC. Video footage shows employees fleeing on foot as officers gave chase.
Even closer to home, the first video evidence has seemingly emerged of immigration enforcement in Santa Monica. An unconfirmed video posted to the NextDoor platform – and subsequently removed – showed three masked men wearing bullet proof vests labeled "Police" corral a suspect into an unmarked car near the intersection of 16th and Washington Ave. The cars then drive away as the person taking the video heckles the officers.
On Wednesday, US District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that Trump’s activation of the California National Guard violated the Insurrection Act and overstepped federal authority. The decision temporarily returned control of the Guard to Governor Gavin Newsom. But that ruling was short-lived. Just hours later, a three-judge panel from the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency stay, restoring federal command. A full hearing is scheduled for June 17.
In Santa Monica, at least one downtown property owner, John Alle, has begun boarding up storefronts, saying the memories of the May 31, 2020 riots and the city’s limited public safety resources have prompted him to act early. “We believe 99.9 percent of the people protesting are peaceful,” Alle told the Daily Press, adding, “But it only takes a few to do real damage.”
Alle said he had heard from two nearby jewelry stores that they plan to board up later on Friday, though the Daily Press has not been able to confirm this yet. No formal guidance has been issued by law enforcement, instead businesses have been encouraged to make their own decisions on how to best proceed.
“We just don’t want to be caught off guard again,” Alle said. “That’s why we’re preparing.”
In a separate development, concerns were raised Wednesday during a Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. (DTSM) Marketing and Business Development Committee meeting regarding the timing of the Promenade’s new Entertainment Zone. The initiative, which allows patrons from participating restaurants to carry alcoholic beverages in marked cups along designated areas of the Third Street Promenade, is scheduled to soft-launch on Saturday.
Eight restaurants have signed up for the program so far, including Cabo Cantina, Barney’s Beanery and Casa Martin. DTSM officials said training has been provided to staff and that additional ambassador teams and private security will be deployed to monitor alcohol use and crowd dynamics.
Boardmember Bruce Fairty voiced strong reservations about the decision to proceed. “I think it’s a bad idea,” he said during the meeting. “You’ve got a protest coming and now you’re adding alcohol into the mix.”
DTSM CEO Andrew Thomas responded that the promotional campaign for the zone had been scaled back in light of the protest. “This is a soft launch,” he said. “We actually postponed some of the publicity we were going to do in order to keep things manageable.”
Thomas said the Santa Monica Police Department has not publicly released its operational plan, but confirmed that officers will be deployed throughout the downtown area. Moreover, DTSM security personnel have undergone crowd control and alcohol policy training and the organization’s ambassador program will be providing added eyes and ears on the Promenade throughout the weekend.
+ + + UPDATE 12pm + + +
Popular gym Fred Fitness, located at 1344 4th Street, sent out the following message to its members at 12noon on Friday. "As a precaution, due to the organized protests a few blocks away tomorrow, we have decided to close the club for the afternoon. We will shut the doors, Saturday June 14th at 11 am and will reopen Sunday, June 15th at 5am (normal business hours)."
+ + + UPDATE 3pm + + +
Workers were seen at about 3pm on Friday afternoon at 331 Santa Monica Blvd. opposite Design Within Reach and Spectrum, boarding up windows despite the lot being currently vacant.
+ + + UPDATE 4pm + + +
City Hall has set up a dedicated URL, santamonica.gov/june-14-protest-updates, although it's somewhat lacking in any useful information and seems to up one minute and down the next. However, an itinerary-of-sorts has been released, the details of which are as follows...
Marky Lennon of the band Venice will sing the National Anthem at 11am. Then State Senator Ben Allen will speak, followed by Assemblyman Rick Zbur. After which, Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete will speak, followed by Mayor Pro Tem Caroline Torosis then councilmembers Natalya Zernitskaya, Jesse Zwick, Dan Hall and Ellis Raskin. All of City Council in fact, aside from councilmember Barry Snell. Finally, Monica Mercedes Perez Jimenez, daughter of Venezuelan dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez will share a few words.
Attendees are asked to please park vehicles south of Montana Avenue and to ask anyone in a yellow vest to direct you to the proper area.
+ + + UPDATE 5pm + + +
Jack's Jewelers at 1357 4th St are boarding up their windows as are Burton (1460 4th St) and both Sand 'n Surf outlets (131 Broadway and 1353 3rd Street).
scott.snowden@smdp.com