Washington’s mayor says he is being harassed after audio of a 911 call he made to report a “far-right” petition signature-gathering group at Walmart was leaked online.
In a Sept. 3 911 call, Yakima Mayor Janice Decchio was quoted as saying, “There are some far-right petitioners at Walmart, but they’re not here. They’re not quitting.” I heard it. “Walmart has repeatedly asked them to do so, and police have not removed them from the premises.”
Yakima Mayor Janice Decchio said she misunderstood the law surrounding collecting signatures on private property when she called 911 to report a petitioner at a local Walmart. (Courtesy of City of Yakima)
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Activists spent Labor Day weekend collecting signatures for six ballot initiatives in Washington related to taxes, parental rights and police pursuits. The effort is being funded by a group called Let’s Go Washington, which did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
The recording of Deccio’s 911 call was first shared on YouTube by conservative commentator Glen Morgan last week.
During the call, the dispatcher and supervisor told Decchio that the petitioner had the right under state law to collect signatures on private property and that Walmart would need to obtain a court order to prevent it. I heard it.
Listen: Mayor calls 911 to report ‘far-right’ petitioners:
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“In Washington state, collecting signatures on ballot measure petitions is a constitutionally guaranteed act,” the paper said. Washington Secretary of State’s Officeacknowledges that the law is not clear on the extent to which businesses and other private property owners can exclude petitioners.
Decchio is scheduled to address the issue at Tuesday night’s Yakima City Council meeting and provided a copy of her statement to Fox News. In it, she said a constituent told her that “far-right groups are running petitions at Walmart and are causing problems for shoppers.”
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“I don’t care or know what they were petitioning about, I just think they were harassing shoppers and the manager asked the petitioners to move away from the store entrance. “I just told them I called the police multiple times that week after I left the store,” Decchio wrote.
Walmart declined to answer questions about the incident or its petition policy. Yakima police confirmed the 911 call but did not respond to further questions about it in time for publication.
“However, I admit that at the time I was completely ignorant of the nuances of the law. In retrospect, I could have waited to hear from the Secretary,” Decchio said in a statement. “No one told the group they couldn’t petition, and they certainly didn’t try to stop them.”
Ms Decchio said that since the first incident, “numerous trusted local residents” had told her that petitioner’s behavior had been aggressive and even threatening.
Activists were collecting signatures for an initiative petition at a Walmart in Yakima, Washington, over Labor Day weekend. (Robin Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
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Decchio said she has received hundreds of harassing texts, emails and voicemails since her 911 call was made public without her phone number being redacted.
In the voicemail Decchio shared with Fox News, a man can be heard saying, “I was wondering how a beautiful face could be so liberal and tell people to give up on democracy.”
Decchio said people have also been harassing her husband, a “disabled veteran with PTSD,” and bombarding her fellow counselors with emails, most of which are The virus is believed to have come from outside Yakima, a city with a population of less than 100,000.
Yakima County is located in central Washington and has not voted for a Democratic president in at least 40 years.
Yakima is a city of less than 100,000 people located in central Washington. Although Washington state has long been a Democratic stronghold, Yakima County and other rural areas still tend to vote Republican. (St. Petersburg)
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Initiatives sponsored by let’s go washington include:
- I-2113, repeals certain limitations on the amount of time police officers can participate in vehicle pursuits.
- I-2117, prohibiting state agencies from imposing carbon tax credit transactions of any kind.
- I-2124, which allows employees to opt out of the state’s long-term care insurance program.
- I-2109, Repealing the State Capital Gains Tax.
- I-2111 prohibits state and local governments from imposing income taxes.and
- I-2081 allows parents of public school students to access educational materials and student records upon request.
According to reports, Decchio became a city council member last year and was nominated by his fellow councilors as a mayoral candidate. Yakima Herald Republic. Mayor and City Council positions are nonpartisan.
Ramiro Vargas contributed the accompanying video.
