SACRAMENTO, Calif. — What was supposed to be a routine Sacramento City Council meeting Tuesday night turned into a standoff between members of the public.
This interaction started as council members opened up the floor to public comment as they were about the discuss the partnership with Sacramento County in regard to Measure O.
As the first speaker was called to the podium, a group of people made their way to block him from speaking.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Councilmember Lisa Kaplan are seen on video getting up from their chairs and walking away.
Kaplan says this is not the first time that man has come to speak at a meeting.
"You don't show up at city council with a mask on your face — when you don't believe in masks — if you're just here to talk calmly to everybody," said Kaplan. "I'm sorry. You're here to incite violence, and that's what they were here for last night."
This caused the meeting to be put on hold as police cleared out council chambers.
Keyan Bliss, vice chair of the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission, was there Tuesday night to be a voice for the homeless.
Frustrated, he believed the city and police protected the people that were making the comments by allowing them the time for public comment.
"It really is just stunning," he said. "The response that white supremacists get, and the level of protection they get from the police."
While Kaplan echoes his frustrations, she says everyone has the right to speak during these meetings.
"The hard part is, I'm an attorney," she said. "The First Amendment says he gets two minutes."
Wednesday, Kaplan stands tall with her Star of David necklace and says ultimately, there still needs to be order during these meetings.
"What they don't have is a First Amendment right to stop the business of city council and to incite violence," she said.
ABC10 spoke with two men who were at the meeting and identify as Proud Boys.
They said they are not against Jewish people and that they were at city hall to address the homeless issue.
