Spokeswoman for Sacramento Mayor Calls Protesters ‘Terrorists’ For Protesting Mayor’s Home Over Homeless

Apparently, the only activists and protesters who the media will label “terrorists,” “anarchists,” and “left wing” these days are those “who have been vocal critics of the city’s leadership.”

Last summer, as celebrities, professional athletes, corporate America, media figures, ethnic race baiters, and the rich and famous jumped on board the Antifa and BLM riot train signaling their superior virtue while pledging their care and concern for George Floyd, cities were destroyed, businesses looted, ransacked and annihilated, and citizens and police were injured and killed.

But those were called “mostly peaceful protests” by media across the country and in Sacramento, as they often stood in front of burning buildings.

Sacramento housing activists staged a demonstration in front of Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s house in the South Sacramento Pocket neighborhood on Saturday night, voicing concerns over the city’s handling of homelessness amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The “Sactivists” who conducted the protest, describe themselves on Twitter as a “Local team of frontline activists in Sacramento. Exposing all corruption. Info hub for activists.”

And since they protested in front of Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s home, they are now “terrorists,” labeled as such by Mary Lynne Vellinga, a former editor for the Sacramento Bee, now working as spokeswoman for Mayor Steinberg. Vellinga “denounced the demonstration, citing numerous damages to Steinberg’s property and several serious threats of violence,” the Sacramento Bee reported. “This isn’t a peaceful protest,” Vellinga said. “This is terrorism … this is not what Sacramento is about.”

Terrorism, the “use of violence and terror to achieve political goals,” could be tied to any of the riots and protests over George Floyd’s killing throughout the summer. For that matter, the “mostly peaceful protests” the media tried to claim, were in fact, mostly violent – across the country, and in Sacramento.

In August, the Globe reported:

Saturday night the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department stepped in and protected the Sacramento County District Attorney’s offices from rioters and vandals after Sacramento Police Department was apparently given a stand down order. The Sheriff’s offices and District Attorney’s office were vandalized Thursday night by Antifa, and the DA’s office set on fire.

Sacramento Police Department covered City Hall.

These are not peaceful protests as politicians and many in the media claim.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg posted a Tweet following the riots discussing how “challenging” it is for the city. He then pivoted to focus attention on cities in other states where riots were also taking place.

pic.twitter.com/Wzo2SH15NL

— @mayor_Steinberg (@Mayor_Steinberg) August 29, 2020

“Many in the city say the Mayor needs to look inward and focus on his sole responsibility, which is the safety and well-being of the citizens of Sacramento. Attempting to deflect attention to other cities is irrelevant – especially to the citizens and taxpayers of Sacramento, whose businesses and jobs are being threatened by the rioters over and over again,” the Globe reported in August.

The property damage in Sacramento is significant, and largely because law enforcement was prevented from doing what they are trained to do and stopping the violence and vandalism.”

Compare the Saturday protest of the Mayor’s home:

“The night of the riot, SacPD posted on Twitter a warning: “A group of approximately 60-75 people wearing helmets, body armor and shields have begun marching from Chavez Park,” the Bee reported. Rolling road closures are in effect. Heavy police presence downtown. Plan accordingly and use alternate routes.”

“A helicopter whirled overhead, illuminating the dark streets as the protesters called for Steinberg’s removal from office. The group set up signs which read “homelessness is not a crime,” “services not sweeps” and “recall the mayor.”

“Photos posted by Sactivists to their social media accounts show demonstrators standing in front of the door to Steinberg’s home, and one photo — taken through what appears to be a curtained window — shows the interior of the home. Another shows a bin of green waste with large tree branches dumped in front of the house’s front door.”

Knock knock steinberg ???????? pic.twitter.com/YaYRj6achU

— Sactivists ⚔️???? (@SacActivists) February 7, 2021

The Globe agrees with Vellinga that this is was not a peaceful protest. And the Mayor has every right to expect safety, security and privacy at his home. And the protesters thankfully did not breach the Mayor’s home, as so many over the summer breached downtown Sacramento businesses, stealing whatever they could carry away, and destroying what was left. The Globe learned that SacPD officers were ordered to stand down on the property crimes, even after Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones requested the National Guard be deployed to downtown Sacramento after protesters the night before vandalized more businesses, broke windows at the downtown offices of the sheriff, district attorney and other government agencies.

All of this is technically “terrorism.” But the riots were discounted as “peaceful protests,” despite the destruction to people’s businesses, and the injuries and killings. But we need the media to call it all what it is – a form of terrorism.

The Mayor has been horrifically impotent in addressing the city’s exploding homeless problem. His project to provide tiny apartments in a renovated old downtown Sacramento hotel cost more than $445,000 per unit for about 250 square feet of living space, as the Globe reported. This project only benefitted the union contractors, and took a handful of “homeless” off the street. There are thousands more living in and destroying Sacramento neighborhoods.

Steinberg recently announced he would push to use $40 million of higher than expected sales tax revenue for affordable housing, and $6 million on youth… nothing about the thousands of homeless vagrants living on the streets who would not be able to pay the rent of affordable housing anyway.

The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing in Sacramento, and neither really cares. Steinberg instead focuses on expensive hotel renovations and building tiny homes for the drug-addicted homeless, who destroy these, and strip them of anything of value before being evicted.

Steinberg just issued a statement about the protest and destruction at his home Saturday:

We agree with Mayor Steinberg, that this is not how to “protest,” and it was anarchy. And so was and is the rioting and protests last summer and fall in downtown Sacramento, and ongoing terrorism of Sacramento neighborhoods by many of these same anarchists and thugs. Most of the damaged businesses are still boarded up in downtown.

Maybe Mayor Steinberg will put his personal outrage to good use and re-think how he handled riots and protests which did not damage his property last summer and fall, but damaged others’ business properties, totaling millions of dollars of damage, as well as causing the permanent closure of many small businesses.

Something of note: a group of homeless advocates known as the Sacramento Homeless Union just launched a recall campaign against Mayor Steinberg in response to his lousy handling of the recent torrential winter storm, which  brought unusually high winds and rain, destroyed some homeless camps and blew away tents. Two people were found dead, though it’s not known whether their deaths were related to the storm. After the storm, the Sacramento City Council held an emergency meeting to immediately open a warming center, a local pool house as needed, and two downtown city garages with bathrooms as safe places for homeless people… after the storm.