READERS RESPOND

If I were the mayor, I would not have let Benito Acosta speak at all until he publicly apologized for his rude, profane behavior during the prior council meeting. Whether his time was up or not, when asked to not have his followers stand, he yelled, “Do it,” several times.

At that point he lost his rights to speak.

I was at the meeting, inside the chambers, and my husband was outside at the time. I believe that the policed dragged Acosta back inside the chambers to protect him and themselves from being trampled by the mob as they ran to the side door. Several people outside were almost knocked over when the mob descended on the door. It appeared to me that a lot of what happened to Acosta was his acting when the cameras were rolling.

Whether you believe that your arrest is warranted, you are not allowed to strike officers or resist arrest, and you may be restrained. From neither my vantage point, nor from my husband’s vantage point, did we see anything close to a beating.

I think the police showed great restraint and attempted to make sure no one got hurt. I only wish that Acosta could show the same restraint when speaking in public and that his mother had taught him some manners.

JUDITH BERRY

Costa Mesa

No.

Acosta was the one who didn’t follow the rules. The mayor is charged with the control of City Council meetings. The public comments are to be directed to the City Council and not the audience. When Acosta tried to take control of the meeting and defied the mayor’s instructions, he lost the right to continue speaking. Specifically, he urged the people in the audience to stand several times after the mayor told him that he wouldn’t be allowed to tell the audience to stand if they supported his ideas.

Acosta’s hostile attitude and noncompliance with meeting protocol caused the police to remove him from the auditorium. This is the same man who used profanity in a previous council meeting while calling our mayor a “racist pig.”

I suspect that his words and actions have had a negative effect on many of the residents in our city and hurt his cause much more than helped it.

PAUL BUNNEY

Costa Mesa

Nope, if anything, the city bent over backward to accommodate Acosta and his group of followers that swelled the council chambers that night. This group was given, if anything, preferential treatment.

Acosta couldn’t get a rise out of the mayor at a December meeting where he used an expletive and called him a “racist pig.” The decorum of a public meeting was not just violated; it was blown to smithereens. I thought I was sitting in on “The Jerry Springer Show.” I watched in dismay and amazement the Tonantzin Collective’s extraordinarily rude behavior. The only rights that I saw violated were those of decency, common sense and respect, not only for the audience, but also for themselves with their use of vulgar language and lack of consideration for all.

Please know that in addition to those who are (age-wise anyway) acknowledged as adults, there were also a fair amount of children in this audience. From my vantage point, I saw a group of people that was trying to pick a fight and that could not get any takers.

The American Civil Liberties Union should be defending the city of Costa Mesa. Acosta should have his mouth washed out, and he should apologize for his less-than-civil behavior.

KATHLEEN ERIC

Costa Mesa

My answer is an emphatic no. The 1st Amendment doesn’t cover incitement to riot.

No one on the City Council should have to put up with this habitual abuse from the “parade of the obtuse” that has been attending the meetings. These people are full of personal attacks that carry little or no resemblance of issues because “the obtuse” are simply fighting for licensed crime.

The American Civil Liberties Union stifles free speech; it doesn’t protect it. Looking at what they stand for, their goal is communism.

DOROTHY CARUSO

Costa Mesa

Based on the information provided in the newspaper and from people who were in attendance, I do not believe that Benito Acosta was mistreated. It is my opinion that he created the disturbance in order to gain attention, hoping that he could create a situation in which he could initiate a lawsuit. It is an age-old political ploy.

RICHARD STOTT

Newport Beach

My first impression ? and it still is ? is that this is another case of the American Civil Liberties Union run amok. The Costa Mesa City Council meetings are so well covered ? city video as well as public attendance ? that there is just absolutely no way that resident Benito Acosta could have been mistreated.

He was asked, then told, to sit down and be quiet. He refused, so he was forcibly taken out.

What the ACLU (what a misnomer) is after is anarchy. I am surprised that the article made it to the front page.

A better choice would be the Feb. 3 article “Police protest game.” That concerns me. That we, as a society, would condone such a violent, anti-law program is amazing. It certainly is not a game in any sense of the word. How about if we encourage a “game” that depicts fire-bombing the local newspaper offices? Or how about tearing up the local schools? Just where is the encouragement of lawlessness going to stop?

No, if Acosta refuses to obey clearly established rules of order, why would some organization file suit on his behalf but to condone anarchy?

I question ? as I always have ? the ACLU’s reasoning and logic, or lack thereof.

DAN FENLEY

Costa Mesa