Police arrested a dozen protesters for disrupting the Sacramento City Council meeting March 19 as officials debated whether to pass a resolution in support of a cease-fire in Gaza.
Protesters erupted during public comment about whether the council should pass a resolution in support of a cease fire.
After they had been warned several times, Mayor Darrel Steinberg tried to clear the chamber and asked for police assistance just after 9 p.m.
But several protesters refused to obey the order and remained in the chamber, according to the Sacramento Police Department.
At about 10:40 p.m., more officers entered and warned the raucous group, ordering them to disperse. Twelve protesters remained after the others left on their own accord, according to police.
The remaining individuals “were arrested for unlawful assembly and failing to disperse and were booked at the Sacramento County Jail,” police said in a statement March 20.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office has not yet received police reports for the arrests, according to a spokeswoman, and did not say what charges would be filed.
“Sacramento is a special place to live for many reasons,” the resolution states. “None is more important than the way we treat each other. In good times and bad, through celebration and despicable hate crimes, our diverse ethnic and religious communities have stood together.”
“I fundamentally do not believe it is within the council’s purview to weigh in on international conflict,” Ms. Kaplan said. “However, as the resolution is before us, I believe in supporting and backing a resolution where leaders from both sides have come together in agreement. Sadly, such a resolution is not before the council tonight.”
Ms. Kaplan, a past president of the Jewish Federation, said she stands with Jewish leaders, rabbis, and community groups who oppose the language and framework in the resolution.
The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region’s board voted against the resolution.
“Ultimately, we decided that we are not able to support something that isn’t factually true.”
The federation had concerns about “false equivalencies between an attack by a genocidal terrorist group, which is Hamas, and Israel’s justified defensive response,” Mr. Layne said.
Protesters had urged the council to pass a cease-fire resolution for months, often interrupting meetings and prompting officials to end meetings early to clear the room.
“Ultimately, I support this resolution, because now Sacramento joins hundreds of U.S. cities demanding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza,” she wrote on X. “We will continue to demand justice and peace. We will be on the right side of history.”
The state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), California’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, welcomed the council’s action, saying it acknowledges the “profound impact” of the conflict in Gaza.
“As someone who has suffered the consequences of the ongoing crisis in Gaza, I thank Mayor Steinberg for bringing together the community to push through this resolution,” said Basim El-Karra, director of the Sacramento Valley/Central California CAIR. “Behind the scenes, he worked tirelessly to make this happen, by serving as a bridge between our community and the Jewish community.”
According to CAIR state spokesman Omar Altamimi, the protesters weren’t Palestinian community members.
The demonstration affected the overall meaning of the resolution, he said.
“It did take away from the message,” Mr. Altamimi told The Epoch Times.
