BLM protesters detained pregnant woman, and nurses in SLO

July 26, 2020

Black Lives Matter protesters gathering at Mitchell Park on July 21

By CCN STAFF

The video shows a man and a woman pleading with Black Lives Matter protesters who had blocked Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo, to let them take a pregnant woman in labor to a hospital.

“She is going to give birth,” the woman tells protesters. “Get out of the road.”

This and other videos given to CalCoastNews provide a record of what occurred at the July 21 protest.

After congregating at Mitchell Park, approximately 300 protesters walked onto Highway 101 from both Osos Street and California Boulevard, blocking all lanes in both directions for nearly an hour. While on the highway, protesters ran after vehicles attempting to drive off the freeway, blocked vehicles, and yelled at some of the drivers, according to videos of the protest.

While protesters blocked the highway, several local nurses posted on Facebook that protesters were blocking traffic during shift changes at area hospitals. Chadwick Payne, a critical care nurse at Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, asked the protesters to screen cars to make sure people “needed at the hospital to take care of super sick people,” could get to work, Payne wrote.

“I’m on my way to work, and they better get off (the highway) because my hospital is short staffed,” nurse Sandra Boc responded to Payne’s Facebook post.

A man in a white truck attempted to get around the protesters by driving on the shoulder of the highway, but his path was blocked. A woman in the passenger seat told protesters that a pregnant woman in the back seat was “going to give birth,” and told them to let the truck through.

Tianna Isis Arata, the organizer of the protest who moved from Portland to San Luis Obispo several years ago, and another protester, quarterback of the Cal Poly football team Jalen Hamler, discussed whether the woman’s water had broken and if she was really in labor, according to the video.

“It’s not worth it, she’s ignorant,” Arata said before marching away chanting, “Black lives matter.”

After the Highway 101 blockade, the protesters marched back into the city. Arata then directed others to stop vehicles, and, wielding an American flag on a pole, she chased several cars. A drone video shows Arata hitting one of the cars with the flag pole.

During the march, several drivers bumped protesters out of the way who were blocking their paths. In one incident, a protester threw a skateboard at the back window of a car that had hit a protester. The window shattered, with the pieces landing on a 4-year-old boy, who was unharmed.

Following the protest, San Luis Obispo police officers arrested Arata, 20, on charges of participation in a riot, unlawful assembly, conspiracy, unlawful imprisonment and resisting arrest. She was released shortly afterwards on her own recognizance.

During Arata’s arrest, 22-year-old Elias Bautista yelled at an officer before kicking him in the crotch, according to videos of Arata’s arrest. Officers booked Bautista in the San Luis Obispo County Jail on charges of attempting to deter an officer from doing his job, and for attempting to take a person from the lawful custody of a peace officer.

SLO Mayor Heidi Harmon, who has repeatedly asked the public to support Arata and Black Lives Matter, joined in the protest, but left to attend a city council meeting before the group entered the highway.

SLO Democratic Socialists of America, a “group of socialists, communists, and anarchists looking to upend capital and build working class power,” raised funds to pay Bautista’s $50,000 bail, according to their Facebook page. The local organization has ties with Harmon, including having her speak at meetings and promoting her reelection.

On social media, protesters are demanding prosecutors charge two motorists with assault with a deadly weapon, and that they drop all charges against Arata and Bautista.

During the four days that followed Arata and Bautista’s arrests, local Black Lives Matter protesters have peacefully marched in downtown SLO, staying on sidewalks, stopping at stop signs and not confronting motorists.

However, protesters tried to stop a CalCoastNews reporter from filming the demonstration, despite being in public. Likewise, protesters followed the reporter as he filmed; demanded he film in locations of their choosing; and ordered other protesters not to speak to him or even acknowledge him.

Following her arrest, Arata took down her Instagram page, and has not attended the past four protests.

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Wait. The ringleader’s middle name is ISIS? You can’t make this stuff up.


I’m sure Mayor Harmon is pleased with her association with people who prevent someone from reaching a hospital. Who be great if someone who ask her but something tells me she would either refuse to answer or give an answer that is irrelevant to the actual question.


I think any of the protestors blocking access to public roads and unlawfully detaining law-abiding citizens should be arrested and charged! And if they are students at any of our fine colleges and are there by way of grants from the state of CA, receiving housing or any assistance from the state of CA (WE THE PEOPLE!), the monies should stop! And yeh, I like the idea of hiding them down too!


The leaders of this fiasco are apparently Cal Poly students. I hope the school does a better job of making them behave. Unfortunately when you have the school controlled by liberal college professors President Armstrong doesn’t stand a chance. Thank goodness my husband, son (Cal Poly grad) and I managed to get through college without becoming a liberal! Disclosure: I was a registered Democrat for most of my life (yes I still believe in a woman’s right to choose). But after living in SLO and participating in council meetings, several commissions and boards I could no longer sit back and listen to the hate these people continue to promote. I love SLO and Cal Poly just not the haters that run the city and unfortunately President Armstrong.


I just finished watching NBC Nightly News, and the videos of clashes between protesters and law enforcement across America are getting spooky, very spooky. It’s like we as a nation are one small step away from the boogaloo, a second civil war. I sympathize with the cause of the protestors, but enough is enough already! How many weeks and months are you guys gonna protest and create havoc!! Take your anger into the political arena. Vote, or even better organize voters! Me? I hate Trump, I really, really hate Trump. But, if these crazy protestors continue like this — closing down Hwy 101, etc, etc — I will swallow my Trump hatred, and vote for him and for law-and-order in November. Protestors, please be wise and stay at home.


You mention boogaloo and protestors in the same breath. You do realize the boogaloo’s infiltrate the protests, pose a legitimate protestors, and instigate the havoc you complain about?


Who benefits from anarchy? Have you asked yourself that question? Perhaps someone who wants to run on “law and order”. You’ll need a little disorder to do it.


Protestors do not show up with ball pean hammers. But right wing anarchists do. They sense opportunity.


You speak of “law and order”.

The Federal officers at these protests are not real Federal officers either. Did you know that? They are contracted law enforcement officers, not Federal employees. They are employed by Black Water et al. They do not take an oath to the constitution to perform this job either. They are mercenaries.


If law and order matters to you, then who does the enforcing should as well.


If you really hate Trump as you say, then pay better attention to how you are being PLAYED. Because you are being played.


I will just say that people didn’t like it when John Lewis stopped traffic on that bridge in Selma. In fact, most of the locals cheered his beating and clamored for “law and order” to return as a result. Many wanted the protestors thrown in jail to teach them a lesson too. Sound familiar?


By your logic then; we should have turned a blind eye towards John Lewis too. We would have sacrificed all the gains of the civil rights movement in exchange for peaceful passage across a bridge.


If you could go back, in retrospect; would you have met John on that bridge in conflict or would you have joined him?


You’re incorrect. Federal Protective Services is a division of DHS. One of my California Army National Guard buddies works for them. The other officers are also sworn Federal agents.


https://www.dhs.gov/topic/federal-protective-service


One of his colleagues was murdered in Oakland.


https://abc7news.com/george-floyd-protest-oakland-federal-officer-killed-patrick-underwood-in/6221576/


The “protestors” are indeed showing up with hammers.


https://katu.com/news/local/man-charged-with-assaulting-federal-officer-with-hammer-during-portland-protest


And lasers.


https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/26/portland-protesters-using-lasers-targeted-increase/


So maybe you should do more research. The radical left is thinking that this is their moment to destroy the United States once and for all. It’s not about George Floyd anymore. Hell, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi couldn’t even remember his name


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N_oKyEDYEk4


I’m not a Republican. I’m not a Democrat. I’m an independent conservative who’s absolutely going to remember who condoned these radical violent mobs and who didn’t. I’ve got three deployments under my belt, so I’ve walked my talk. We no longer can ask the late Rep. Lewis what his opinion of these protests is. His party, however, is all in. I doubt that the majority of Americans support this stuff. We’ll find out in November.


How do you know that these violent protesters are “right wing” or is this just an A _ _ sumption? FYI Antifa is not a right wing organization. They are people like Heidi Harmon who believe in pure socialism just like in Cuba where they get things free from their government (food, education and medical care) the only things they are missing are 1) no internet don’t want their hostages to get any ideas and 2) absolutely no freedom to leave. Of course I do enjoy sitting back and laughing that all of these childish individuals have now been caught on cameras so that when they go to apply for a job (you know terrible thing called “work”) they are going to find that employers particularly government or high tech firms will routinely do internet searches on all potential employees so they can find out what kind of person these people really are. Enjoy your 15 minutes of fame because it is going to come back and bite you in the back end!


Complete rubbish


Haha.. that’s the first time I’ve seen that tactic: ‘stop the riots and violent protests or I will vote Trump for reelection!’

We’ll see if anyone responds favorably to that threat.


Absolutely. Better the devil you know than the one you don’t.


I’d like to hear from the District Attorney’s Office what are the legal options of defense and extrication innocent civilians have when they are being illegally detained by these domestic terrorists.