El Paso police issue citations to ‘Open Texas’ protest organizer for violating city orders
EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso police have now issued citations to the organizer of the “Open Texas” rally that took place in downtown over the weekend for violating the city's emergency orders and for not having a permit for the gathering.
An police spokesman confirmed Monday afternoon that Sammy Carrejo was cited. Officers served the citations on Carrejo at his home and he provided a video of it that you can watch in the video player at the top of this article.
Carrejo told ABC-7 that he was not surprised given that he'd failed to get the required permit a week in advance of the demonstration. He vowed to fight the citations in court.
About 100 people attended Saturday's rally, which was closely observed by El Paso police, but no citations were issued at the time to participants for violating public health orders. (You can see video from the rally at the end of this article.)
The lack of police action came to the dismay of some nearby residents who questioned why there was no enforcement. Those questions boiled over into a terse exchange earlier Monday between Mayor pro-tempore Peter Svarzbein and Police Chief Greg Allen about the lack of enforcement.
Allen told City Council that citations were not issued during the event in order to avoid the potential of escalating tensions with the protesters. He indicated they had planned to cite Carrejo retroactively.
Allen indicated he had been in contact with Carrejo prior to the event and advised him of "the do’s and don't's," which included the need for protesters to socially distance and wear face masks.
The city’s “Stay Home, Work Safe” order in effect on Saturday prohibited almost all public gatherings except for performing essential work and limited shopping for essentials. Gatherings that block public rights of way, such as sidewalks, generally require a permit from the city.
Video of the rally captured by ABC-7 showed protesters often standing less than six feet from others, as required by the public health order. Some of the protesters were also not wearing masks, a new requirement of the order that took effect the day prior to the rally.
Officials have previously said that failing to comply with the directive to wear a face covering in public to help slow the virus' spread could result in misdemeanor criminal charges carrying a fine ranging from $500 to $1,000 or up to 180 days in jail.
The weekend protesters were calling on the Texas and El Paso governments to relax restrictions instituted to slow the spread of Covid-19 and allow the reopening of businesses.
