Protesters clash with feds at Coast Guard Island; Trump calls off Bay Area enforcement action

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee held a news conference Thursday urging calm and unity as federal enforcement threats loomed over the Bay Area. 

“Oakland is and will continue to be a welcoming city for our immigrants and our refugees,” Lee said. “We will remain calm, focused, and united. We will not allow outsiders to create chaos or exploit our city.”. 

Her remarks came moments before President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he was calling off plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco this weekend. It’s unclear whether Trump’s promise to back off a surge in enforcement would extend to other parts of the Bay Area.

Their comments came hours after protesters clashed with federal officials at the entrance of Coast Guard Island in Alameda. While the island is located in Alameda, the entrance is in Oakland. 

Dozens of protesters blocked the entrance to Alameda’s Coast Guard Island early Thursday, but at 7:15 a.m., tensions came to a head when a line of 10 vehicles, some marked Border Patrol, sped toward the blockade. Federal agents jumped out of the first, unmarked car and began yelling at the crowd to disperse, setting off two flash bangs and shooting the Rev. Jorge Bautista in the face with a pepper ball gun. The crowd fell back and the vehicles drove through. An organizer said Bautista was later taken to the hospital.

At the news conference, Lee urged residents to remain peaceful if they protest.

“We want to make sure we don’t take the bait and bring violent behavior to anyone, to police officers, to people, to our neighbors. That’s not tolerated,” she said.

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson, State Sen. Jesse Arreguin, and other officials joined Lee Thursday to denounce the Trump administration’s immigration efforts and said they were prepared to push back if he focused on Oakland. 

“We know that they’re baiting Oakland, and that’s why San Francisco, all of a sudden, is off the table,” Jones Dickson said. “They specifically wanted this city, and that is clear based upon what I heard from San Francisco this morning.”

The Coast Guard Island protest eventually grew to over 200 people, at one point packing all four crosswalks at the intersection of Dennison Street and Embarcadero in Oakland.

A motorist tried to drive through the crowd and ran over protester Matthew Leber’s foot. The driver eventually reversed and sped off. Leber seemed stunned but said he was OK. Others who disagreed with the blockade were more sympathetic.

“I support you guys, but I’m working. I’m not going to hit anybody, but I’m working,” said a truck driver, who did not give his name. He eventually turned around.

Kendra Ferguson came out in full clown regalia, an alter ego she called “Klowndra,” dispersing the tension with juggling and balloon animals.

“Being silly, being a clown, being a goofball is a valid and wonderful way to not only protest and resist, but also to bring us all together,” Ferguson said.

Protesters of all ages attended, including some young children, wearing chicken costumes and others masked and covered head to toe in black. 

Shortly before 10 a.m., San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie released a statement saying that Trump called him and said he was “calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco.”

The Rev. Deborah Lee, a lead organizer of the protest, announced the news to cheers from the crowd, but also cautioned that it was too early to know what it would mean.

“We don’t know what this means for Alameda County, we don’t know what this means for the rest of the Bay Area, and we also know that ICE terrorizes our communities every day,” Deborah Lee said. “Stay vigilant.”

Michael Garcia-Picazo, a 24-year-old EMT from Hayward, was among about 500 protesters who marched from Fruitvale Plaza to the entrance of Coast Guard Island on Thursday evening. Though he was aware that Trump had called off the San Francisco action, he was on alert for other Bay Area communities.

“We still don’t know what’s going to happen in Alameda County,” he said. “Or in Daly City, or in South San Francisco. There’s already 100 agents out here, so there’s probably going to be more coming, as well.”

John Longstride, a 40-year-old East Bay resident, said he doesn’t trust the president.  

“He’s a prolific liar and a 34-count felon … He’s never been honest about anything,” he said. 

During the march, demonstrators said they wanted their protest to send a strong message.

“We’re hoping it’s an opportunity to unite folks, … not just to defend immigrant rights, but in a broader united front against Trump’s agenda – his racist agenda, his assault on our democratic rights,” said Lin An, an organizer with Freedom Road Socialist Org Oakland, who helped plan the march. 

At the bridge entrance, protestors came face-to-face with a uniformed line of Coast Guard officers. Many protestors shouted insults at the officers and accused them of protecting Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

“ICE isn’t here,” one officer responded. “This is federal property, and we’ve just got to make sure that everyone is safe. For security reasons, we can’t have people going on and off the bridge. There’s a lot of operations way outside the scope of what they’re protesting happening.”

Thursday’s demonstrations came days after “No Kings” protests in Oakland and across the country denouncing Trump as an autocrat. Thousands turned out in Oakland last Saturday against Trump policies, especially the tough stance on immigration. With ICE raids increasing, fear of deportation is keeping many immigrants from venturing out, causing them to miss work, school and other activities.

Michael Little Bear, a program manager at Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice in Oakland, said that fear is noticeable at his organization’s food pantry, which lately as been serving about 100 people per day — half of what it typically serves.

(Top photo: Federal agents shoot a pepper ball, hitting the Rev. Jorge Bautista in the face, by Eli Benton Cohen)

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