Police / Fire

Resident arrested prior to Board of Supervisors meeting

Courtney Evans said she assumes she broke a rule requiring face masks.
Courtney Evans and deputies with the San Benito County Sheriff's Office at a Dec. 15 Board of Supervisors meeting. Image from video taken by resident Elia Salinas.
Courtney Evans and deputies with the San Benito County Sheriff's Office at a Dec. 15 Board of Supervisors meeting. Image from video taken by resident Elia Salinas.

San Benito County resident and business owner Courtney Evans faces charges of trespassing and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors, following an arrest at the Board of Supervisors chambers prior to its Dec. 15 meeting.  

Capt. Eric Taylor with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched to the county administrative building at 481 Fourth Street in Hollister after a staff member reported a member of the public refused to follow the rules required to attend in person.

Evans told BenitoLink she was sitting alone when she was asked to leave, but was not given a reason. She said she assumes the rule she broke is not wearing a face mask, though she said it was not mentioned by the deputies throughout the process. 

“I’m not sure how an American citizen and business owner can be trespassing in a public county supervisors meeting to exercise my right of freedom of speech and speak at these meetings,” said Evans, who owns Kamal Yoga Studio. 

A video posted on Facebook shows deputies pulling Evans up from her seat and placing handcuffs on her. She is heard saying “I’d like to call my lawyer,” and “Oh, you’re hurting me. I totally have a right to be here,” before being taken out of the chambers. 

Evans, an administrator of the #OpenSBC Facebook page, has been vocal in her opposition to face coverings and the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.

According to the California penal code, Evans faces a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to one year in county jail for each charge. She said her court date was scheduled for Feb. 16. 

“God bless America,” Evans told BenitoLink.

 

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Noe Magaña

Noe Magaña is BenitoLink Co-Editor and Content Manager. He joined BenitoLink as reporter intern and was soon brought on staff as a BenitoLink reporter. He also experiments with videography and photography. He is a San Benito High School alumnus with a bachelor's in journalism from San Jose State and a Liberal Arts Associate's Degree from Gavilan College. Noe also attended San Jose City College and was the managing editor for the City College Times, the school's newspaper. He was a reporter and later a copy editor for San Jose State's Spartan Daily. He is a USC Center for Health Journalism 2020 California Fellow.