San Benito County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a threat received by County Supervisor Bea Gonzales following her Aug. 25 vote to approve a policy that requires unvaccinated county employees to get tested twice weekly.
The message sent to Gonzales through a text on her Supervisor number said, “You cannot take away people’s rights to choose what they put into their own bodies. That’s acting like a dictator! One of these days someone is going to do something to you that you don’t want done, and at that time you will remember what you have done today.”
The message also states that Gonzales will be answering to God for her decisions.
Operations Capt. Tom Keylon told BenitoLink the investigation is near completion and will be submitted to the District Attorney’s office by the end of the week. He added he cannot release the name of the person being investigated at this time.
Gonzales told BenitoLink at first she was not going to report the message because she didn’t want to empower the “religious right wing that is very much against masks and vaccination.”
Her position changed, however, and she decided to leave up to the authorities whether the message would be considered a threat.
She said she doesn’t fear for her well-being but thought it was important to report it because she lives with her elderly mother.
“I’m her caregiver and I would not want someone to hurt my loved ones simply because they are angry at the way I voted,” Gonzales said. “That’s just ridiculous.”
Gonzales told BenitoLink she felt the person should be confronted for his or her behavior.
The District Attorney, upon receipt of the investigation report, will decide whether to press charges.
We need your help. Support local, independent news. BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s news.