Lafayette City Council Votes To Ask Caltrans, CHP To Stop Trump Supporters From Hanging Banners, Flags Over Highway 24
LAFAYETTE (CBS SF) -- The city of Lafayette has approved a resolution asking for more law enforcement assistance at a weekly pro-President Trump demonstration along a Highway 24 overpass.
Last week, city officials indicated they would seek help from Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol in getting the flag-waving and banner-hanging Trump supporters off the El Curtola Boulevard overpass.
City officials say the issue isn't protesters' political beliefs -- it's the fact that drivers are distracted and neighbors complain to Lafayette police.
Monday night during the Lafayette city council meeting a resolution was adopted asking Caltrans and the CHP to enforce state law which prohibits affixing banners or waving flags above the traffic on Highway 24.
The city has spoken publicly and contacted the state multiple times since the protesters started appearing in August. It said while the city is responsible for maintaining the roadways and Lafayette PD is responsible for Vehicle and Penal Code violations, it has no easement on the El Curtola Boulevard overpass bridge.
Now that the city council has approved the resolution, Lafayette Mayor Susan Candell will asks both agencies to enforce "Streets Highways Code 720-734," which states, among other things, "If any encroachment exists in, under or over any State highway, the department may require the removal of such encroachment in the manner provided in this article."The encroachment, in this case, are the signs protesters affix to the fence.
"No action has been taken to correct it and the signs continue to be a distraction to the motorists," Candell wrote. "The events have also attracted counter-protesters at various times; and one occasion, a counter-protester grabbed a flagpole and threw it over the fencing to the highway below."
"While the city of Lafayette recognizes and respects the First Amendment rights of all protesters, we are increasingly concerned about the safety of the motorists on the highway. We submit the attached resolution urging the California Department of Transportation and the California Highway Patrol to enforce the laws and regulations of the state of California."
