The long delayed criminal trial of Costa Mesa resident and immigrant rights activist Benito Acosta, a.k.a. Coyotl Tezcatlipoca—a name that references his native American heritage—is scheduled to start Aug. 15 at the Harbor Superior Court in Newport Beach. Acosta is charged with one misdemeanor count each of violating city codes 2-61(b) and 2-64, which address unlawful conduct by audience members during city council meetings.
The charges of “disrupting” a city council proceeding stem from a free-for-all that broke out during a public comments session of the Jan. 3, 2006, Costa Mesa city council meeting after police, acting on Mayor Allan Mansoor’s orders to take an early recess, pulled Acosta away from the speaker’s podium and pushed him outside the council chambers before his three minute speaking limit had expired.
From the newswire:
Criminal Trial for Costa Mesa Activist By JOHN EARL
OC Voice Editor
| | Defend free speech! Attend Coyot Tezcatlipoca's criminal trial, Sept. 25th
by Civil Liberties
Criminal Trial for Costa Mesa Activist