The Orange County District Attorney’s office announced charges against seven protesters from February’s white supremacist rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim, but none against stabbing victim/stabber of three Charles Edward “Chuck” Donner, the Exalted Cyclops of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan who apparently traveled from a multi-million dollar home in San Francisco to partake in a “White People Do Matter” rally.
Prosecutors also say they are looking for an eighth counter protester who wore a blue shirt and kicked 51-year-old Donner in the head. The Anaheim Police Department is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to that person’s arrest.
“This case is not about who was holding the protest rally, their racist message, or who was counter protesting. This is about the mob mentality turning violent, which shut down neighboring streets, access to the park, and endangered the community as a whole,” said District Attorney Tony Rackauckas in a statement. “Our office does not condone any message of hate, mob violence, or vigilante justice.”
But da’ DA and his office’s release make no mention of what happened to Tom Bibiyan.
The Jewish Green Party activist and Los Angeles City Council candidate says he did not attack Donner before the Klansman’s blade severed a nerve that caused the 34-year-old Bibiyan to lose feeling in his fingers and produced scars around his elbow and on the side of his chest. Keeping that last wound closed would require three staples.
“The self-defense argument for Donner doesn’t apply to me,” Bibiyan told the Weekly’s Gabriel San Ramon after the Klukker waltzed out of jail free. “I didn’t beat him up!”
Those charged Thursday are:
* Hugo Contreras, 28, of Hawthorne, who faces misdemeanor counts of battery and resisting or delaying a peace officer and up to a year and six months in jail and a $3,000 fine if convicted;
* Randy Felder, 26, of Lakewood, who faces misdemeanor counts of battery and assault and up to a year in jail and a $3,000 fine if convicted;
* Guy Harris, 20, of Anaheim, who faces a misdemeanor count of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine if convicted;
* Mark Liddell, 26, of Los Angeles, who faces misdemeanor counts of battery and resisting or delaying a peace officer and up to a year and six months in jail and a $3,000 fine if convicted;
* Armando Ortiz, 22, of Santa Ana, who faces misdemeanor counts of battery, assault, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and up to two years in jail and a $13,000 fine if convicted;
* Nicole Schop, 24, of Los Angeles, who faces misdemeanor counts of battery and resisting or delaying a peace officer and up to a year and six months in jail and a $3,000 fine if convicted;
* Alexis Solis, a 23-year-old transient, who faces a misdemeanor count of battery, a vehicle code violation for throwing a substance at a vehicle and a year and six months in jail and a $3,000 fine if found guilty.
Here are the circumstances of the case, according to OCDA:
Prior to the incident, a white supremacist organization with a chapter in Orange County announced that they were holding a protest rally at Pearson Park sometime on Feb. 27, 2016. The announcement was reported in the media and the rally was promoted on social media.
On the morning of Feb. 27, 2016, a group of more than 50 counter protesters congregated in Pearson Park in anticipation of the white supremacist members expected to arrive for the rally. Shortly thereafter, seven white supremacist group members arrived in two vehicles, including an SUV, and were immediately surrounded by the counter protesters.
As the white supremacist members exited the vehicle, Solis is accused of throwing a glass bottle at the SUV and striking the window of the vehicle. While the white supremacist members went to the back of the SUV to take their signs out, Ortiz is accused of assaulting Steven O., pushing him to the ground, and kicking at the victim. Solis is accused of then running toward where Steven O. was on the ground and punching the victim in the head. Ortiz is accused of turning toward Charles D. in an aggressive fighting stance. Charles D. was holding a small pocket knife but did not advance toward Ortiz, who is accused of then rushing at Charles D., prompting the victim to back up before being assaulted by Ortiz. Harris is accused of joining Ortiz in assaulting Charles D., and both Harris and Ortiz are accused of striking Charles D.in the head multiple times. Charles D. then stabbed Ortiz once under the armpit in self-defense. Harris is accused of wrestling Charles D. to the ground and received a cut to his arm in the process of trying to take the knife away from the victim. Charles D. was able to get away from Harris and moved to the other side of the SUV. While walking on that side of the SUV, an unidentified suspect in the blue shirt is accused of running up to Charles D. and punching him in the head.
While the counter protesters screamed at William H., the victim was backed up against the SUV and used the flagpole in his hands to keep the mob at bay. Felder is accused of picking up a sign with a wooden post and throwing it at William H., who blocked it with the flagpole. The driver of the SUV then drove off, leaving members of the white supremacist group at the scene.
William H. chased after the SUV while the mob of counter protesters pursued him. Felder is accused of catching up to William H. and pushing him to the ground. As the mob surrounded William H., the same unidentified suspect in the blue shirt is accused of running up to the victim and kicking him in the head. A Good Samaritan intervened and tried to get William H. to safety.
At that time, uniformed APD officers arrived and began assisting plainclothes officers who were already at the scene. The officers immediately began rendering medical aid to injured victims, arresting those engaged in assaults, and securing the crime scenes. While a white supremacist member, Richard W., walked away toward another vehicle to retrieve something, Liddell is accused of approaching him and punching the victim in the head, knocking him to the ground. Schop and Contreras are accused of running up and punching and kicking Richard W. while he was down on the ground. When APD officers ran toward the defendants assaulting Richard W., Contreras, Liddell, and Schop are accused of fleeing on foot and not surrendering to the APD officers, who had to take down the three defendants by force.
Contreras, Felder, Liddell and Schop are scheduled to be arraigned on July 28 at North Justice Center in Fullerton, according to OCDA, which adds arrest warrants have been issued for Harris, Ortiz and Solis.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues and anyone with additional information is requested to call OCDA Supervising Investigator Stan Berry at 714.347.8864 or submit an anonymous tip to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855.847.6227 (855-TIP-OCCS), via occrimestoppers.org or by texting to 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S) from a cell phone. (All text messages should begin with the letters “OCCS”.)
