BREAKING: 3 Anti-Parent Activists Arrested Amidst Ugly Attempt to Recall Conservative School Board Members In California
pro-union thieves target parents and voters
Three anti-parent activists have been arrested for theft in a southern California school district that is facing the recall of two pro-parent, conservative board members who won their seats as a part of the growing parental rights movement sweeping the nation.
The battle for public education has become particularly ugly in the blue state of California. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has made clear his intention to sue districts that enact parental rights and notification policies and is already in the process of bringing legal action against the Chino Valley Unified School District for their recent actions to solidify parental rights in the district.
A hotbed of activist insanity has been the Orange Unified School District (OUSD) in Orange, California. Orange borders the city of Anaheim in Orange County, about 35 miles south of Los Angeles. After a contentious battle over pandemic school closures, several parents stepped up to run for open positions on the board. Madison Miner and Rick Ledesma were two pro-parent candidates ushered in on the back of the parental rights movement, with Ledesma going on to become the board President. They wasted no time making changes, immediately introducing their own parental rights initiatives and voting to fire the sitting Superintendent. The moves sparked outrage among progressive power brokers in Orange County’s public education and a recalls of both Miner and Ledesma are on the March ballot.
Hundreds of thousands dollars in union funding and private donations have gone into. the recall so far, accompanied by the harassment of Miner, Ledesma and their “No on recall” supporters. Whisper campaigns, accusations, personal harassment, calls to employers…the list of offenses goes on and on. Harassers have even been stealing the property of the two trustees at the center of the recall efforts.
Stealing and removing the campaign signs of opponents is illegal but that is exactly what anti-parent activists have been doing as they continue their dishonest campaign to thwart parent rights in public education. It’s the type of theft that can break a grassroots campaign that doesn’t have the endless financial backing of big unions. Campaign signs can run into the tens of thousands of dollars and are often the most effective type of advertising in local elections. Thefts of such signs are a deliberate and common strategy of progressive activists.
Miner and Ledesma supporters began putting electronic trackers in their signs as a precaution, which eventually led them to discover the signs in the personal possession of “Yes on recall” activists. OUSD watchdog Frank Rodriguez covered the incident.
As stated before, three individuals were caught with multiple signs in their garage, along with the trackers that have been located from "Yes on Recall" supporters' homes. These individuals tried to lie and state that they did not have these items in their possession. But with the trackers sending off a ping for both law enforcement and the rightful property owners to hear, it was found that was a lie.
With these trackers accompanied by law enforcement, the "No on Recall" effort was able to recover over $500 worth of stolen property from the "Yes on Recall" supporters. However, that leaves over $3500 worth of missing property that has gone unaccounted for. But that has not always been the case when it came to the stolen banners.
OUSD Trustee Miner was able to track the signs and issued a “private person’s arrest,” more commonly known as a citizen’s arrest. Miner filed the appropriate reports under penal code 496 - which relates to crimes against property - against Marianne Louise Hugo, Amy Nygren and Sheryl Gomez. Police officers with the city of Orange completed the reports on scene and recovered portions of the property
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As reported by Rodriguez only a small fraction of the stolen property was recovered. Trustee Miner told Rodriguez she was disappointed to see grown adults engaged in such deceptive and juvenile tactics against voters.
“I was disappointed to hear my signs were stolen in the first place, but I am angered and embarrassed that adults are the ones stealing and vandalizing my signs and banners. However, I will not let this halt our efforts with restoring rights to parents.”
The “No on Recall” signs aren’t the only thefts by progressive opposition teams. Crystal Miles is running for state office and also had her signs stolen by “Yes on Recall” supporters, as reported by Frank Rodriguez.
Crystal Miles, a current sitting City Councilwoman for Villa Park, CA, who was a victim of her signs also being stolen by "Yes on Recall" supporters, had this to say as she is currently running for the State Senate of California:
“I am so grateful for Orange PD and their professionalism and dedication and commitment to public safety, … These are the far-left progressive tactics that Orange County Voters are so tired of. I am very grateful to have my property returned to me as these signs are expensive, and stealing from me or any other candidate is stealing from those who supported me.”
This is what the good people of California, OUSD and America at large are up against - a cabal of unions and corrupt politicians who refuse to honor the will of the people and who are willing to engage in illegal activities and blatant harassment to subvert the constitutional rights of citizens they disagree with. It creates a deliberate uphill battle for the honest citizens who commit to abide by the law and the terms of human decency. It is further proof that the battle is one worth fighting. They want parents like Madison Miner and common-sense politicians like Crystal Miles to give up under the weight of fear so other good citizens will be discouraged from participating in their own government in the future.
Rodriguez reminds OUSD voters that these activities are not only illegal, but blatant attempts to push parents out of the education system. Voters in the OUSD district are asked to vote “NO” on the recall on or before the March 5 elections.
Moments ago I was just retrieving stolen signs from the “yes on recall” supporters. “Yes on recall” have stolen over 12 confirmed signs that have been retrieved by myself or the police department…No to protect parental rights. These childish behaviors that are happening with the “yes on recall” need to come to an end. If you are going to vote yes on the recall you are endorsing these [attempts against] restoring parental rights and keeping your parents informed of what is happening with your children inside of the classroom. These behaviors, these criminal and potential criminal activities need to come to an end and ensure the safety of our children, our district and our community.
You can help the parents of OUSD and their beleaguered representatives by sharing this story and others like it. The anti-parent activists depend on incidents like this remaining localized and under the radar. Most normal people would find it hard to believe such petty and underhanded tactics are employed by grown adults and that disbelief is also a tool employed by progressive activists.
“No on Recall” supporters have been rallying to bring awareness to the campaign and plan to hold another one this coming Friday, March 1. Local supporters can stop by any time between 4p.m. and 6p.m.
