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Hundreds protest proposed charges for Tiana Arrata and Elias Bautista in SLO 

Photos by Jonathon Lopez.

–The Central Coast organization Santa Maria Youth Abolitionists and Abolitionist Action of the Central Coast on Saturday held a rally and march with a reported 300 people in front of the San Luis Obispo Superior Courthouse.

The march started at courthouse, continued to the San Luis Obispo Mission, the San Luis Obispo Police Station and ended at Mitchell Park. The protest included “teach-ins” at different locations on topics such as settler colonialism, decriminalizing, and political repression.

The protest chants included “Free Tianna” and “Hands off Elias” as well as “This is what community looks like.” The protestors were initially met with counter-protestors standing across the street from the courthouse in front of the Fremont theater. They held Blue Lives Matter Flags and sang. Both protests reportedly remained peaceful and there was no clash between the two groups.

The organizers asked the community to take action for Tianna Arrata and Elias Bautista, who could be facing charges after an arrest following a July 21 protest. They also spoke about the importance of protecting black women and non-binary femmes.

“This demonstration is to bring awareness to Tianna and Elias,” said Flor Hernandaz, “They are our community members and they are under attack. We demand that all charges must not be pursued, SLO PD & the DA must not use Tianna and Elias as political pawns to control the local Black Lives Matter movement. We demand for the reallocation of funds to the people, not policing and contributing to the silencing of young activists.”

A friend of Elias Bautista’s, Josh Powel, ended the march with a speech about the work Bautista has done in Santa Maria. Powel spoke about the community organizing and advocacy Elias does with Santa Maria Youth Abolitionist’s saying “We need to show up for Elias like we’re showing up for Tianna. When we say free Tianna we say hands off Elias. That’s what this is about, real solidarity. Keeping the community safe.”

The organizers argued for divesting from police and investing in the community and encouraged emailing and tweeting at Dan Dow to drop the charges.

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The news staff of the Paso Robles Daily News wrote or edited this story from local contributors and press releases. The news staff can be reached at info@pasoroblesdailynews.com.