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Carlsbad City Council Accused of Fascism

"You all are fascists," yelled 53-year-old Carlsbad resident Richard Shapiro during his three-minutes of public comment to the Carlsbad City Council on September 14. "Because of a word I was removed from this hall. That's fascism. We know it was on your cue [Mayor Bud Lewis] that I was arrested."

It was three weeks prior, during the August 24 meeting, when Shapiro was escorted out of the same room by two uniformed police officers after Mayor Lewis ordered officers to remove him for saying the word "pussy" while commenting on free speech. And while Shapiro was no stranger to the police escort out of council chambers for his vitriolic rants, he was shocked when officers handcuffed him and transported him to a substation behind the Albertson's Market on Carlsbad Village Drive.

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"I couldn't stop laughing," Shapiro said during a September 14 phone interview. "They didn't know what offense to charge me with."

An hour later, says Shapiro, officers transported him to the Vista Detention Facility and booked him into jail for violating Penal Code 403, "crimes against the public peace."

Shapiro remained in a cell for 16 hours before he was given an affidavit to appear in court on October 6 and released on his own recognizance.

In the following weeks, he has filed an injunction against the city for violating the Brown Act and plans to file a civil complaint for $100,000.

At the September 14 city council meeting, Shapiro warned councilmembers that the issue is not over. "I already have a complaint in to the civil Grand Jury, a claim against your city...I will take this all the way to a 12-panel and you will be embarrassed, all of you. All because of a word, Bud [Lewis], that is fascism."

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"You all are fascists," yelled 53-year-old Carlsbad resident Richard Shapiro during his three-minutes of public comment to the Carlsbad City Council on September 14. "Because of a word I was removed from this hall. That's fascism. We know it was on your cue [Mayor Bud Lewis] that I was arrested."

It was three weeks prior, during the August 24 meeting, when Shapiro was escorted out of the same room by two uniformed police officers after Mayor Lewis ordered officers to remove him for saying the word "pussy" while commenting on free speech. And while Shapiro was no stranger to the police escort out of council chambers for his vitriolic rants, he was shocked when officers handcuffed him and transported him to a substation behind the Albertson's Market on Carlsbad Village Drive.

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"I couldn't stop laughing," Shapiro said during a September 14 phone interview. "They didn't know what offense to charge me with."

An hour later, says Shapiro, officers transported him to the Vista Detention Facility and booked him into jail for violating Penal Code 403, "crimes against the public peace."

Shapiro remained in a cell for 16 hours before he was given an affidavit to appear in court on October 6 and released on his own recognizance.

In the following weeks, he has filed an injunction against the city for violating the Brown Act and plans to file a civil complaint for $100,000.

At the September 14 city council meeting, Shapiro warned councilmembers that the issue is not over. "I already have a complaint in to the civil Grand Jury, a claim against your city...I will take this all the way to a 12-panel and you will be embarrassed, all of you. All because of a word, Bud [Lewis], that is fascism."

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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