Black Lives Matter caravan met with opposition in Lakeside

San Diego Union-Tribune (CA)

Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement drove through Lakeside in a caravan of about 20 cars Sunday afternoon, their honks and cheers drowned out at times by counter-protesters, who revved up their pickup engines and flew pro-Trump and pro-law enforcement flags.

Some counter-protesters waved Confederate flags.

The car protest marked the seventh organized in recent months by a group known as Caravan for Justice SD. It was their first demonstration in East County and the first that was met with opposition.

Organizers of the caravan said the goal of their demonstrations is to bring attention to the Black Lives Matter movement in communities across San Diego County, particularly in a safe manner during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizers said they support police reforms that address systemic issues in law enforcement, including an end to qualified immunity, which generally shields police officers — and other government officials — from lawsuits.

"People say things like, 'Well that's legal' or 'He sued and he lost,'" caravan organizer Susan Walsh said. "Well that's because the system is set up so that these things happen. I want to change the system so that people can get justice (and) there is accountability."

Walsh, who lives in San Diego, said she believes financial penalties stemming from lawsuits would lead to fewer cases such as the death of Breonna Taylor.

Taylor, 26, was fatally shot by police in Louisville, Ky., in March when officers forced their way into her home while serving a search warrant as part of a drug investigation. Her boyfriend, who said he was unaware who was at her door, fired a round, striking an officer. Police fired a volley of shots in return.

Taylor's name was written across the windows of several cars that participated in Sunday's caravan. Other windows included messages such as "No justice, no peace," "Your silence speaks volumes" and "Fight racism." Some cars were decorated with U.S. flags.

Participants decorated their cars in the parking lot of an Albertsons on Winter Gardens Boulevard near Lemon Crest Drive — where a swarm of counter-protesters, many of them wearing Defend East County hats and T-shirts and waving U.S., Trump 2020 and pro-law enforcement flags, converged, as well.

Counter-protesters shouted, "All lives matter" and "Go home."

Standing near his white pickup as caravan participants decorated their cars, a man decked out in a Defend East County hat and white T-shirt said he viewed Black Lives Matter supporters as a domestic terrorist group that is waging a civil war. Asked about his thoughts on equality or lack thereof in the criminal justice system, the man, who declined to give his name, said, "Life ain't fair."

Some caravan participants said racism in East County was the reason they demonstrated there. Cori Zaragoza said she wanted to show others in the community that "not everyone is like that."

Wendy Scott showed up with her 5-year-old twins — a boy and a girl — who are biracial and raised by lesbian mothers.

"I think it's important for them to know that the right thing to do is to stand up for people," Scott said. "We want them hopefully to grow up in a better world than we are (in) right now."

Counter-protesters intermixed with the caravan as it traveled to downtown Lakeside and back to the shopping center, where some participants faced off with counter-protesters before sheriff's deputies arrived and defused the tension.

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