Mother of Four Arrested at May 1st State Capitol Protest Speaks Out

California Globe wonders how many Antifa or Black Lives Matter protesters were issued citations for violating the state health code and spreading ‘contagious, infectious or communicable diseases.’

A mother of four contacted California Globe after reading our coverage of the Antifa and Black Lives Matter riots currently taking place, and the very few arrests, even with police injured, contrasted with the right-to-work protests at the State Capitol in May, and the 32 arrests at the May 1st rally alone.

The mother of four said she was arrested by the Capitol CHP May 1st while her husband and four children watched in horror.

“Thank you for the the article that you wrote and posted on Facebook about the right to work protest,” Andrea Hedstrom said. “It really spoke to me somehow. I was among the 32 arrested on Mayday at the Capitol, and somehow, these current riots feel like salt in the wound for me after a month of some of my own friends and family attacking me for standing peacefully with a sign on May Day, telling me what I had done was selfish.”

Here are some of the photos from the May 1st right-to-work rally and protest:

“Your article really spoke to me somehow, so thanks for it,” Hedstrom said. “It means a lot to me, such as these couple of specific quotes: ‘More peaceful protesters were arrested at the right-to-work Capitol protests than at Friday’s riot at the Sacramento police station,’ as well as, ‘This was a full blown riot justifying Capitol police in riot gear – not the peaceful right-to-work protests by small business owners, employees, moms, dads and kids, and college students where 32 parents were arrested.’ Anyway, the entire article/post was great, and I’m thankful for it.”

“A recently recovering liberal Democrat, I have been following your news for some time, and it has helped me enormously.”

California Globe asked Andrea Hedstrom why the CHP arrested her and what the charges were. Here is what she said:

“I believe the actual charges ended up being two misdemeanors, one for some health code violation and one because I would not leave public property? Or something like that? My husband read it more closely (he watched this happen, as did my own four children who were sort of traumatized by the entire thing). Hedstrom provided a copy of the citation notice (below). “I have a court date set for June 30th.”

“Honestly, the month of May was really hard for me…I think I went into some kind of denial or shock or something.”

“But watching these riots take place downtown is truly breaking my heart: the destruction and violence just seems so wrong,” she added. “I simply cannot understand how what I did was wrong, especially relative to what is taking place now. Thanks for listening, as well as for asking in the first place: it is really good to get this off my chest somehow.”

As for the arrests May 1st, it became quite obvious that Hedstrom and the other “arrests” was a set up. The arrests of the right-to-work protesters was a heavy handed scare tactic for daring to challenge the governor’s indefinite lockdown orders. Compare her arrest — a mother at the Capitol with her husband and four children, with the Antifa riots currently destroying entire downtown areas of cities across America, and throughout California; Antifa spreading into downtown neighborhoods, breaking into stores, restaurants, delis, clothing stores, optometrists offices, and stealing anything they could grab, smashing car windshields and spray painting graffiti on cars and buildings, and destroying private property.

Here are more of the photos from the peaceful May 1st right-to-work rally and protest:

The only spray paint the right-to-work protesters used was to make their homemade signs ahead of the protest.

What was Andrea Hedstrom’s crime? Giving her children a First Amendment civics lesson in the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances?

Hedstrom was charged with violating:

§ 1861. Prohibited Conduct: (c) Present In or Upon State Property when Closed to Public. Said person is in or on state property, or area thereof, during the hours when said state property is not open to the general public, and said person does not have a permit, the authority or lawful reason to be there.

and…

California Health and Safety Code 120175: 

Each health officer knowing or having reason to believe that any case of the diseases made reportable by regulation of the department, or any other contagious, infectious or communicable disease exists, or has recently existed, within the territory under his or her jurisdiction, shall take measures as may be necessary to prevent the spread of the disease or occurrence of additional cases.

The police charged Hedstrom with remaining on closed state property without a permit (remember that the CHP under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s orders, denied the permit request for this protest), and creating a health hazard. It took a little digging to find the second code because the police officer left a number out of the Health and safety code, and incorrectly spelled “communicable.”

California Globe wonders how many Antifa or Black Lives Matter protesters were issued citations for violating the state health code and spreading contagious, infectious or communicable diseases.

She will be in Superior Court June 30, 2020.

Here are some photos California Globe took in downtown Sacramento Monday June 1st, following three nights of Antifa riots: