Closing Arguments Begin in Trial of Two Accused in 2021 ‘Antifa Riot’ in Pacific Beach

Closing arguments began Monday in the trial of two men described as anti-fascists, who prosecutors allege took part in a plan to violently attack attendees of a far right “Patriot March” in Pacific Beach on Jan. 9, 2021.

Brian Cortez Lightfoot, 27, and Jeremy Jonathan White, 41, both from the Los Angeles area, face charges including conspiracy to commit a riot and assault for allegedly attacking several people at the Jan. 9, 2021, demonstration that devolved into brawls and violence.

Nine other people charged by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office have pleaded guilty to various charges and some have been sentenced to prison.

Prosecutors allege that while uniting under the banner of “antifa” (a contraction of the term anti-fascists), the men and their co-defendants sought to take violent action against far-right Patriot March attendees, and proceeded to pepper spray, beat, and shock them with Tasers.

Defense attorneys for both men argue their clients reacted in self- defense to threats from armed members of the far-right contingent.

The defense has also criticized the District Attorney’s Office for bringing charges solely against individuals on the anti-fascist side and argued that violence from right-wing Patriot March participants have been ignored.

White’s attorney, Curtis Briggs, previously sought to have the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office disqualified from prosecuting the case because he alleged District Attorney Summer Stephan has historically declined to prosecute members of far-right organizations who commit violence.

Briggs’ motion was ultimately denied by San Diego Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein, who is presiding over White and Lightfoot’s trial.

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office has said in prior public statements that “video evidence analysis shows that overwhelmingly the violence in this incident was perpetrated by the antifa affiliates and was not a mutual fray with both sides crossing out of lawful First Amendment expression into riot and violence.”

On Monday, Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey delivered her closing arguments and attorneys for White and Lightfoot are slated to begin their arguments on Tuesday.

Harvey told jurors that they were not being tasked with weighing the merits of left or right-wing politics.

“It is not a crime to be affiliated with antifa,” the prosecutor said, arguing that politics’ relevance to the case lay solely in how anti- fascist beliefs motivated the defendants. “The reason you’ve heard about antifa is because that is the thing that tied all of (the defendants) together.”

Harvey alleged both Lightfoot and White pepper sprayed various people and either took part in or instigated incidents in which people were physically beaten by members of the anti-fascist crowd.

In arguing that a conspiracy to commit violence existed, Harvey noted the prevalence of all-black tactical gear among the defendants, describing them as “black bloc,” and that they arrived in San Diego armed with weapons such as baseball bats, pepper spray and Tasers.

Harvey said the anti-fascist group “did not come here for any other purpose than for violence.”

Both White and Lightfoot said during the trial that they acted in self-defense during some of the incidents and did not witness others committed by members of the anti-fascist crowd. The men also testified that many of the listed victims were themselves armed with weapons and were identifiable as members of far-right groups known to engage in violence at protests.

For instance, one man who White and Lightfoot are accused of assaulting pulled out a knife and the men testified they reacted out of the belief that he might stab members of the anti-fascist group.

Harvey argued the man brandished the knife in self-defense after he was knocked off his bicycle by anti-fascists who were angered that he was filming them.

The prosecutor argued the defendants implied the victims “are somehow less deserving of equal protection of the law and more deserving of the violence inflicted upon them.”

Lightfoot’s attorney, John Hamasaki, described his client earlier in the trial as an aspiring firefighter and told jurors that some of the pro-Trump attendees “were looking for trouble, were looking for conflict, and were looking for a fight.”

White said he attended the protest in tactical gear because he anticipated violence might occur, citing past experiences in which he saw anti- fascists violently attacked at protests.

White stated that he saw himself as a protector — wearing a helmet that bore the message “When the shooting starts, get behind me”‘” —  and often acts as a medic during protests. He said he acted in a medic capacity on Jan. 9 by assisting numerous people who were pepper sprayed.

The jury is expected to begin their deliberations by Tuesday afternoon.

City News Service contributed to this report.