Testimony wraps for first defendant in San Diego antifa conspiracy case

SAN DIEGO (CN) — Three years after right- and left-wing protests devolved into street brawls in the San Diego neighborhood of Pacific Beach, one of two men charged by prosecutors with being a part of a “antifa” conspiracy to riot wrapped up his testimony in a jury trial on Tuesday.

Three days after supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building to try to keep him in power on Jan. 6, 2021, supporters of the outgoing president organized a “patriots march” rally in the coastal Pacific Beach neighborhood three days later. Local leftist groups organized a counter-protest.

The San Diego district attorney claims that Jeremy White and Brian Lightfoot are self-described anti-fascists and members of “antifa” who traveled to Pacific Beach from Los Angeles to be a part of a conspiracy to stop Trump supporters from rallying, and to attack them.

In his testimony on Monday and Tuesday in San Diego Superior Court, White maintained that he went to the protest as a medic to protect people and their First Amendment rights. He said any violence that he and Lightfoot might have participated in was in self-defense against violent right-wingers, including white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups.

White is also facing an assault charge in the case. Lightfoot is facing multiple assault charges.

“I have witnessed street medics needing to protect themselves, and I’ve had to protect myself, several times at these actions,” White said, responding to a question about why, if he was acting as a medic that day he prominently carried a can of red bear mace in a black plate carrier vest, as shown in pictures and video at the trial.

“We get picked out,” he said.

White said he’s been involved in numerous social causes and political movements since 2015, when he worked on Bernie Sanders’ first presidential campaign. Since then, he said he’s seen and been a victim of violence from right-wing groups and law enforcement groups during protests, and that’s why he felt he had to carry mace and assemble an intimidating looking all-black outfit of protective gear.

A part of his outfit, and his social media username “antifa soldier,” was also an act of political theater, White said.

Antifa, he said “is just a mindset based on your opposition to fascism,” not a group that one can claim membership in.

On Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey presented White with a picture of him flushing mace out of Lightfoot’s eyes on Jan. 9. Harvey asked if he helped Lightfoot just so he was “able to get back to the action."

“No, so he was not in pain anymore,” White said.

“Well, not in pain, but also able to see again,” Harvey said.

“Yeah, that’s a valuable part of being at a protest or anything is being able to see,” White retorted.

Throughout the two-week trial, prosecutors presented a series of sometimes shaky video footage from participants in the protest, onlookers, and undercover law enforcement, showing figures clad in black, sometimes carrying Black Lives Matter or antifa Aktion flags marching, confronting people in American flag, Trump or other apparel featuring macabre skulls associated with far right wing groups. Those interactions often devolved into melees, involving pepper spray or orange colored bear mace.

One of the linchpins in the prosecutor’s case against White revolves around a video, which they claim shows White putting two fingers against his respirator at his eyes, then pointing to a left wing protester to direct them to throw a man named Ryan Luke off his bike. Luke then brandishes a knife at left-wing protesters surrounding him. At some point White follows him, according to the defense, or chases him, according to prosecutors, around the corner and either sprays him with bear mace according to prosecutors, or lets off “a short cautionary burst” of mace, White said.

The defense describes it as an act of self-defense against a man wielding a knife with deadly intent, one that White doesn’t recall well.

“That’s not how self-defense works. You don’t get to act in defense of others if they don’t have the right to self-defense themselves because they started it. That’s exactly what’s happening across the board here,” said Deputy District Attorney Will Hopkins on Tuesday in open court after the jury left the courtroom. “Now, at this point after Ryan Luke has been getting his ass kicked for about a minute a half when he has every right to pull that knife. He should pull that knife and thank God that he did pull that knife."

White and Lightfoot had nine other codefendants, but each pleaded guilty to different charges; some received time in prison, some are still awaiting sentencing.

John Hamasaki, Lightfoot’s defense attorney, said he expected his client to testify on Wednesday.