KEITH McHENRY, keith@foodnotbombs.net, @
McHenry is co-founder of the global Food Not Bombs movement. He said today: “On Monday, April 2, 2023, Reno Food Not Bombs volunteers Diamond and Clarissa Roman were helping a local woman select items from the clothing donation at the weekly meal when they were struck by a motorist. The three were rushed to the hospital where the woman seeking clothing was pronounced dead. Diamond and Clarissa are in critical but stable condition according to hospital staff. Diamond arrived in the emergency room with a broken back. Clarissa’s condition upon arrival at the ER was significant. She had a broken clavicle, broken ankle, broken ribs, collapsed lung, and a brain bleed.
“The driver, identified as David Turner, made statements to officers that this incident was intentional. He faces one count of open murder and two counts of attempted murder.” See local reports.
McHenry added: “Politicians and the media regularly dehumanize the homeless, portraying those who are forced to live outside as criminals and mentally ill while passing laws they claim will ‘protect’ the public from the homeless and those who help them.
“The city of Houston passed a law against the Food Not Bombs meal outside the main library and has been issuing tickets to the volunteers at every serving. Their first jury trial is set for early June. Authorities in West Palm Beach, Florida recently introduced a local ordinance against their weekly meal. The City of Santa Cruz also passed a similar law against their local Food Not Bombs group.
“Santa Cruz city officials coordinate with the local anti-homeless vigilante group Take Back Santa Cruz who encourages violence against the homeless and provides what officials call citizen support for their sweeps of homeless camps and the towing of vehicular homes.
“A man in a white pickup truck has driven at people during the Food Not Bombs meal in Santa Cruz several times in the last half year. Thankfully people were able to jump out of the path of the truck as it hopped the curb. Take Back Santa Cruz treasure Manuel Prado is the husband of Google’s chief counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado. According to emails we received under the public records act he meets with the Mayor, City Manager and the Chief of Police weekly to discuss stranger efforts to criminalize the homeless in Santa Cruz.
“Passing laws that make it illegal to be homeless may suggest it is acceptable to attack those who live outside. Tennessee was the first U.S. state to make it a felony to camp on public property. It was already illegal to sleep on private property and state property, and now public property has been added.
“State Senators in California have introduced SB-31, This bill would ‘prohibit a person from sitting, lying, sleeping, or storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property upon any street, sidewalk, or other public right-of-way within 1000 feet of a sensitive area, as defined. The bill would specify that a violation of this prohibition is a public nuisance that can be abated and prevented, as provided.’
“The definition of ‘a sensitive area’ is given as: ‘Sensitive area’ means ‘a school, daycare center, park, or library.’
“The attack against the volunteers in Reno is not the only tragedy Food Not Bombs has faced this year. Officers from multiple agencies shot and killed Tallahassee Food Not Bombs volunteer Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, also known as Tortuguita, on Jan. 18 after authorities moved through the camp of activists who were in a forest to protest a planned $90 million police training facility.
“The Food Not Bombs community is saddened by the attack on our volunteers and those they were helping. A gofundme account was set up by our allies at Family Soup Mutual Aid. In true giving form, the Roman family has agreed to this fundraiser on the premise they will provide some burial assistance to the family of the woman who was killed in this tragedy.
“It is no wonder that people believe it is acceptable to assault the homeless and those who are providing help.”