{"id":37812,"date":"2021-07-19T15:40:37","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T22:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=37812"},"modified":"2021-07-19T15:40:37","modified_gmt":"2021-07-19T22:40:37","slug":"siskiyou-county-new-frontier-for-resisting-anti-asian-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=37812","title":{"rendered":"SISKIYOU COUNTY NEW FRONTIER FOR RESISTING ANTI-ASIAN VIOLENCE"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by\u00a0Ethnic Media Services<\/a><\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0Jul 19, 2021<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0Immigrant Rights<\/a>,\u00a0Politics<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Hmong protestor in Yreka July 17<\/em><\/p>\n

By: Sandy Close<\/strong><\/p>\n

With additional reporting by Sunita Sohrabji and video\/photographs by Manuel Ortiz<\/strong><\/p>\n

YREKA, California \u2014 Over 600 Hmong Americans from across California and as far away as Milwaukee and Minneapolis converged on the Siskiyou County courthouse in Yreka Saturday to demand a federal investigation into the June 28 fatal shooting of a Hmong father of three by law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n

The protest has turned this sparsely populated county nestled in the foothills of Mount Shasta into the newest flashpoint of resistance by Asian Americans against a surge of anti-Asian violence in the state, according to Mai Vang, a Sacramento City Council member who spoke at the July 17 rally.<\/p>\n

In this case the targets are Asian Americans of Hmong, Cambodian, Lao and Chinese descent who have settled in growing numbers in the county, many to grown small cannabis plots much as their families cultivated in Laos and Cambodia. The shooting intensified escalating racial tensions between county authorities and cannabis growers.\u00a0 While cannabis is legal in California, outdoor cultivation is forbidden in Siskiyou County. Farmers can grow up to 12 plants indoors.<\/p>\n

The shooting victim, identified as 35-year-old Soobleej Kaub Hawj, allegedly turned the wrong way at a checkpoint on Highway A 12 near Weed during a mandatory evacuation order for the region during the early hours of the Lava fire.\u00a0 His wife and three children were in a second car behind him.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement officials say he was turning back towards the evacuation zone when he was stopped, and that he was pointing a semi-automatic handgun.<\/p>\n

Community activists dispute that, saying it was too dark to see inside the truck.\u00a0 A photo taken by an eyewitness shows the sides of the truck riddled with 21 bullet holes and both side windows blown out. Activists also say an eyewitness video records the sounds of at least 40-60 bullets being fired.<\/p>\n

The Siskiyou County Sheriff\u2019s Department did not issue a formal statement, but posted a response on its Facebook page. \u201cOfficer involved shootings are complex investigations that take time to thoroughly investigate.\u00a0 There are certain details surrounding this incident that have not been made public as the investigation is ongoing; however, in the future, once the investigation is completed, a thorough report of the incident will be made public.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zurg Xiong \u2013 a 33-year-old local activist who began a hunger strike on July 9 to demand justice for Hawj \u2013 took center stage at the July 17 rally.\u00a0 In a letter addressed to Siskiyou Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue and the Board of Supervisors of Siskiyou County, which was circulated among the protestors, Zurg reiterated his demands:\u00a0 release of all video camera footage, an official investigation into the shooting, and an end to racial discrimination against the Hmong community, including restrictive water ordinances which activists claim target Hmong farmers.<\/p>\n

Surrounded by relatives who keep constant vigil, Zurg told protestors he was prepared to die if there is no justice.<\/p>\n

Many older protestors, including veterans from the Vietnam War dressed in army fatigues, expressed a sense of betrayal over Hmong farmers being characterized by county authorities as the \u201cHmong cartel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do they hate Hmong people?\u201d asked Dr. Lee Yao Pang of Sacramento who referenced, like many in the protest, the fusillade of bullets fired at Hawj\u2019s car.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe served U.S. forces in the secret war in Laos, we rescued American pilots, we lost over 35,000 lives supporting the U.S. Now we\u2019re accused of running a secret drug war here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would a cartel be doing, asking for dialogue and protesting peacefully like this?\u201d asked Ed Szendrey, former chief investigator for the Butte County District Attorney\u2019s office, who has helped veterans from the secret war since the 1990s and came to the protest from Chico. He said the county\u2019s water ordinances were so restrictive they were starving Hmong farmers out of the county.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s as if they assume every drop of water goes for cannabis farming. But people need water to cook, to bathe, to live.\u00a0 Old couples have to go to the creek to get water now.\u201d<\/p>\n