Orange County Protesters Cry Out Against Police Brutality

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA — Orange County stepped out in peaceful protest Tuesday to share their solidarity that Black Lives Matter.

Over one week since George Floyd was killed while detained by Minneapolis police officers, people across the country are finding their voice. In Orange County, cities avoided levying curfews instead maintained a watchful eye on maintaining the peace and guarding protester's rights to assemble.

Over 100 people gathered in Los Alamitos, over 200 people in Rancho Santa Margarita, and over 300 people peacefully protested in Brea, and hundreds more in Costa Mesa and Yorba Linda.

Pockets of protest all told similar stories, people gathering, marching, airing their frustrations, saying the names of those brutalized and killed by an unjust authority.

All bore the message that peaceful protest would continue.

Rancho Santa Margarita started with one protester, Sunday, the group says. That one person turned into six, Monday. On Tuesday, there were 132 protesters in front of the civic plaza, holding signs, chanting, and sharing their message.

We started with 1, then 6 people yesterday. Today we’re up to 132 people. Your voice matters. #ranchosantamargarita #BlackLivesMattter pic.twitter.com/IqF5jgTWsk
— Elisabeth (@e_haff) June" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/e_haff/sta... 2, 2020

According to Kim Baccellia, the group was chanting "We Can't Breathe."

Though no curfews were actively in place, at 5 p.m. Costa Mesa police reported over 200 participants marching in the area of Baker and Fairview. The group has paused at the entrance to the OC Fairgrounds.

According to reports from the scene, they observed over 8 minutes of silence to honor George Floyd before marching and chanting "No Justice, No Peace, No Racist Police."

"We support the public's right to peaceably assemble and hold non-violent demonstrations," Roxi Fyad of the Costa Mesa Police Department wrote on Twitter.

Multiple people were arrested in Anaheim overnight, and though curfews went out in several Orange County cities Monday, there were no curfews in place Tuesday.

There was a visible police presence in all towns with protests, and as of Tuesday night, protesters maintained their right to hold a peaceful assembly. Rumors of protests were shared across social media.

In Lake Forest, Mayor Neeki Moatazedi calmed her residents, saying that there are no credible threats of protests or violence in their city limits.

"We are confident in the Sheriff's Department's ability to keep Lake Forest safe," she said.

As parents like Baccellia talk to their children about why people are out in protest, the message continues to grow. Baccellia told Patch, "The protesters want to be seen, they want their story told."