The Post Millennial
written by Eva Knott, San Diego CA
Saturday November 12, 2022
The first of 11 Antifa defendants who rioted in Pacific Beach more than a year ago was sentenced to prison on Thursday. Erich Louis "Nikki" Yach, now 38, admitted to three violent felonies in a plea deal and was sentenced to 56 months in a California state prison. Yach will have 362 days credited against his time in prison, for the 316 days served along with "good time custody credits."
Those who were victims of Yach during the Antifa riot in Pacific Beach, California, on January 9, 2021, were expected to speak Thursday morning in court, but none appeared on the courtroom's video monitor. The hearing had been moved to a different, numbered courtroom so that might have been a contributing factor to their absence.
Judge Polly H. Shamoon spoke before announcing Yach's sentence, remarking that she had received a letter "from the defendant's wife, that starts out, To whom it may concern, Judge or Executioner…"
A small person who was introduced as "the spouse," stepped up to a microphone and said to the court, "It's Mister Hubbard, I am Nikki's husband, and she is my wife. And I go by Gigi Hubbard, legally I am known as Maria Victoria Valderama Hubbard, but I am about to change my name legally. I am just here to speak on behalf of my wife, she is the love of my life."
"She does not deserve to be in a men's jail for the past year," the petite person continued. "…and I request from the judge, respectfully, to put her in the correct prison when she goes to prison, to be in women's prison, so that she doesn't get further violated by men cops…. She has been through enough. And I am just here to speak on her behalf….And this is just political, fascist nonsense….all that she has gone through, she has been unhoused from the age of thirteen….foster care, she is a sexual abuse survivor….I just ask the court to give leniency to my wife after everything she has gone through….It would be nice if the prison would respect all of her rights… especially as a trans woman. Thank you."
Jail page in San Diego County describes Eric Louis Yach as a white male.
Antifa activists also took issue with Yach being housed in a women's prison, and with Yach's legal name being used as opposed to the chosen "Nikki."
Yach has been held in custody since December 2021, the only one of the 11 total Antifa defendants charged in San Diego County that is in custody. Yach was arrested by San Diego police at one of the border crossings between California and Mexico, statements made by attorneys in court suggested that Yach was across the border, in Mexico, prior to his most recent arrest.
Yach may have been held in custody because he had multiple open criminal cases in San Diego County, and while Yach was at liberty he had multiple FTAs, or Failures To Appear for his court dates.
Of all 11 Antifa defendants, Yach might have been facing the most possible years in prison, if he had been convicted of all charges. He was out on bail for a previous felony when he committed the new felonies, which meant that Yach could have gotten 16 years in prison just for that aggravating factor, if he had been convicted of all eight felonies and multiple special allegations that he faced, after the grand jury indictment which listed 29 counts.
Yach admitted to three felonies, plus two "special allegations." The first felony was Count 1, conspiracy to riot with all ten of his Antifa co-defendants. Each of those remaining defendants were named in Yach's plea deal paperwork. Yach's co-defendants are currently scheduled for jury trials in March 2023. It is unknown if Yach is expected to testify at the trial.
The second felony Yach admitted to was Count 11, saying "I did unlawfully use a tear gas weapon on S.M…not in self defense." The co-conspirators named in that specific attack are Alexander Akridgejacobs, Jesse Merel Cannon, Luis Francisco Mora, Samuel Howard Ogden, and Bryan Rivera, all of whom plead not-guilty.
Erich Yach spraying a man who helped rescue a boy being beaten by an Antifa mob, according to Yach's guilty plea. Famous photo after the January 2021 riot in Pacific Beach, California.
The third felony Yach admitted to was Count 22, violently assaulting victim R.L., which was "likely to produce great bodily injury." His co-conspirators in this attack are named as Jesse Merel Cannon, Brian Cortez Lightfoot Jr., Faraz Martin Talab, and Jeremy Jonathan White, all of whom plead not-guilty.
In count 23, which was dismissed in the deal, Yach was specifically charged with using a stun gun on the same victim R.L., but Yach did not admit this count. When the prosecutor presented her case to the grand jury, she commented on the "crackling" of the taser which could be heard in evidence video.
Some of the charges that were dismissed in Yach's plea deal were: being a part of the mob attacking the victims; participating in the "de-arrest" of one rioter; kicking victims who were on the ground; using a taser on one victim; spraying multiple victims with tear gas; and refusing to disperse after police declared a riot.
The alleged violence from the Antifa defendants happened after Patriots declared plans for a march in Pacific Beach; Antifa then posted on social media calling for "direct action" against the Patriots. The alleged Antifa co-conspirators showed up dressed all in black, with protective gear and armed with weapons, according to San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan, in her indictment of the 11 defendants.
Yach also admitted to several aggravating factors. Yach admitted to having committed new felonies while he was out on bail for a previous felony. Yach was already a convicted felon who had served a prior stint in prison. These "aggravating factors" can add 2 years to any prison term, and because Yach was charged with 8 felonies, he could have gotten 16 years just for the aggravating factors.
On the day his plea deal was revealed in September, prosecutor Makenzie Harvey read the details of Yach's crimes into the court record, and named his co-conspirators in the specific acts. During this time, Yach was standing in a custody "tank" adjoining the courtroom, and he admitted to the judge, "Yes guilty" and "True" to each charge and allegation.
Yach had multiple, open criminal cases in San Diego County; in the deal he also admitted being a convict on prison grounds, which was the reason for his prior arrest, for which he was out on bail, when he committed the new, riot charges. Time for that offense runs concurrent to the current sentence. Yach also had a separate case for resisting arrest, as well as multiple charges for failing to appear for his court dates, those were all dismissed in the plea deal.
The Post Millennial
written by Andy Ngo
Wednesday September 28, 2022
A 38-year-old Antifa member and career criminal in San Diego is the first to be convicted over a violent Antifa conspiracy to attack Donald Trump supporters and beachgoers at Pacific Beach in January 2021.
Erich Louis Yach, of San Ysidro, Calif., admitted to conspiracy to riot, assaulting multiple persons and unlawfully using tear gas as a weapon, plus other felonies in court on Wednesday, in a deal in which she is expected to be sentenced to nearly five years in state prison. Yach is listed as a 6 feet 4 inches tall male in jail records, but she told the court she is trans and that her name is “Nikki.” She has a prior felony conviction in California for domestic violence.
As part of the plea deal, Yach also pleaded guilty over her role in a separate case, which was being prosecuted simultaneously. Yach admitted to being a felon on prison grounds and committing new felonies while out on bail. Another separate case of misdemeanor resisting arrest was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
In June, a secret grand jury indicted Yach and 10 other alleged Antifa members accused of being part of a network of violent cells in southern California that planned and carried out brutal attacks during a riot in Pacific Beach, Calif. on Jan. 9 last year. Video recorded at the riot showed the mob in black bloc assaulting multiple victims with weapons. Trump supporters, minors, a photojournalist and a man and his dog walking on the beach were all hurt during the attacks. Multiple weapons and firearms were seized from suspects during executed search warrants.
“On or about January 9, 2021, I unlawfully conspired with Alexander Akridgejacobs, Jesse Merel Cannon, Brian Cortez Lightfoot Jr., Christian Martinez, Luis Francisco Mora, Samuel Howard Ogden, Bryan Rivera, Faraz Martin Talab, Jeremy Jonathan White and others whose identity is unknown to commit the crime of Penal Code Section 404 Riot, in violation of PENAL CODE SECTION 182(a)(1),” admitted Yach in a statement submitted to the court. She also admitted to participating in “a group attack” on two other victims.
Erich Yach admitted to conspiring with others to carry out multiple violent crimes at an Antifa riot
Before a secret grand jury earlier this year, San Diego County prosecutors showed video evidence of Yach during the riot. Yach wore a red and black jacket, and hid her face with a mask and sunglasses.
Yach also pleaded guilty to unlawfully using tear gas as a weapon, and working with four other named Antifa rioters to assault another victim “by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.”
In recent court hearings, Yach appeared in person aided by the use of a walking cane. If Yach had been convicted of all charges in the Antifa riot indictment, she could have gotten 16 years in prison just from the special allegation that she committed 8 new felonies while out on bail for a previous felony.
The 10 other alleged Antifa members charged over the Pacific Beach attack for various felonies are: Alexander Akridge-Jacobs, 31, Jesse Merel Cannon, 32, Joseph Austin Gaskins, 21, Brian Cortez Lightfoot Jr., 25, Christian Martinez, 23, Luis Francisco Mora, 30, Samuel Howard Ogden, 24, Bryan Rivera, 20, Faraz Martin Talab, 27, and Jeremy Jonathan White, 39.
Yach is the only one currently held in custody of the 11 total Antifa defendants in San Diego. The others bailed out in December 2021 using funds from far-left groups. Yach’s sentencing date is set for November 10. She is expected to be sentenced to four years and eight months in prison, with credit for time served.
Newsweek
written by Andy Ngo
December 9, 2021
For the first time in the U.S., prosecutors are attempting to break up a network of alleged violent antifa cells.
This week, the San Diego County District Attorney's office charged 11 alleged antifa members with felony conspiracy and felony assault charges, among other crimes, in a riot case where supporters of former President Donald Trump and random bystanders were beaten in Pacific Beach, California in January. Eight suspects were arraigned this week; they have all pleaded not guilty.
Eight suspects were issued search and arrest warrants last week in San Diego County and Los Angeles County. Police recovered three guns, ammunition, body armor and drugs. The large operation to arrest the suspects involved mutual support from multiple law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Escondido. The case is sending shockwaves through far-left networks in Southern California, who have been raising funds for their comrades.
The criminal complaint accuses Alexander Akridge-Jacobs, 31, Jesse Merel Cannon, 31, Joseph Austin Gaskins, 21, Brian Lightfoot, 25, Christian Martinez, 23, Luis Francisco Mora, 30, Bryan Rivera, 21, Faraz Martin Talab, 27, Jeremy Jonathan White, 39, Samuel Howard Ogden, 24, and Erich Louis Yach, 37, of conspiring together and with other unidentified persons to riot and commit violent criminal acts in January.
"The Defendants are alleged to be affiliated with ANTIFA and are organized into two groups, one originating from Los Angeles and the other from San Diego," reads the charging document. "ANTIFA is known to use force, fear, and violence to further their own interests and to suppress the interests of others. This tactic is referred to as 'Direct Action' and is known to mean acts of violence such as assault, battery, assault with deadly weapons, arson, and vandalism. The alleged object of this conspiracy was to incite and participate in a riot using direct action tactics."
On January 9, around a hundred Trump supporters gathered on the Pacific Beach pier in San Diego to protest Trump's election loss. They were met with an equally sized group of masked people dressed in black uniforms and riot gear. They carried shields, banners and signs displaying the antifa logo.
The complaint's allegations of assault causing bodily injuries by the suspects match what was captured on videos at the time. Videos show bat-carrying antifa members chasing fleeing participants of the Trump rally and pepper spraying them in the face before punching and kicking them. Bystanders on the beach were also victimized. One video captured a man walking his dog on the boardwalk being assaulted with pepper spray from a person in black next to an antifa flag. Jeremy White was charged with animal cruelty over the incident.
Police eventually declared an unlawful assembly after officers were hit with rocks, bottles and pepper spray by the rioters.
San Diego Police said in a statement last week that 16 people were victimized in eight separate attacks at the riot.
The San Diego District Attorney's Office released a press statement saying that the antifa rioters also targeted minors and a journalist.
"The Antifa-affiliated group surrounded several minors who they believed to be attending the Patriot March, sprayed them with mace and chased them up the boardwalk, shoving one of the minors to the ground. The minor was surrounded and beaten resulting in the minor victim being taken to the hospital to be treated for a concussion," the statement read.
John Cocozza, a 43-year-old local photographer who was there to cover the protest, says he was assaulted multiple times at the riot by people from the antifa side.
"Police were standing 40 feet away and did nothing," Cocozza says. He suffered deep bruising on his back after a rioter from the antifa side hit him with a long wooden stick. "That guy was aiming for my head. I saw him coming and I turned at the last moment."
According to the criminal complaint, "Antifa supporters" had posted on social media calling for a counter direct action against the Trump rally days before. During the riots in 2020 and 2021 in West Coast coast cities like Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles, violent direct actions by antifa and leftist groups were announced and promoted on Twitter.
The complaint alleges that nine out of the 10 suspects wore black clothing, with the 10th suspect wearing black and a red flannel jacket that had "pro Antifa patches." Black clothing and black masks are part of a tactic known as black bloc and is used by antifa groups to evade identification by journalists and law enforcement.
The complaint details how the suspects worked in a coordinated fashion to blind victims with pepper spray before striking them with potentially deadly weapons, punches, kicks and projectiles.
Erich Yach, of San Marcos, California, is charged with felony conspiracy, felony assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, assault with a stun gun or less-lethal weapon and multiple felonious use of tear gas charges. He is currently wanted on an arrest warrant and his bail will be set at $250,000.
Samuel Ogden, charged with felony conspiracy and assault, is from Touchet, Washington. His social media is filled with posts about stopping fascism and one of the groups he likes on Facebook is Antifa International.
Alexander Akridge-Jacobs was arraigned on Thursday and is charged with felony conspiracy and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
Jesse Cannon, a rapper who goes by "420 Noize," has been charged with felony conspiracy, felony assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. His social media features symbols of antifa. The criminal complaint alleges the San Diego resident pointed out victims for others to assault and threw a chair, bottle and large drink can at his targets. He also allegedly initiated an attack by shoving a victim to the ground.
Jonah Abraham Bigel is accused in the complaint of striking a victim with a baseball bat. He had already been charged in March with felony assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism over the January 9 riot. A search of his home in February allegedly resulted in police finding a gun and matching baseball bat.
He has other charges stemming from allegedly assaulting the owner of a Trump merchandise booth in San Diego and carrying an illegal pistol in September 2020. His $20,000 bail was covered the same day he was arrested. In November 2020, he allegedly set fire to a San Diego Police Department property using homemade firebombs.
The San Diego chapter of the Socialist Rifle Association, an organization that was linked to the leftist Dayton, Ohio mass shooter, says Bigel's home was searched again by San Diego police and that a judge authorized police to seize "any flags, decorations, or paraphernalia showing association to 'Antifa.'" The SRA also posted information for people to donate to Bigel's GoFundMe, CashApp and Venmo where he is described as a "BLM activist."
Luis Mora, of Culver City, Calif., was arraigned on Monday on charges of felony conspiracy, felony assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, and three felony counts of tear gas usage. He was previously arrested at an antifa riot outside the Wi Spa in Los Angeles in July where left-wing protesters rallied to defend a trans woman accused of exposing an erect penis to women and girls. On social media, Mora self-identifies as "anti-fascist."
Bryan Rivera, charged with felony conspiracy, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and tear gas usage, was also arrested at the same Wi Spa riot with Mora.
Jeremy White, of North Hollywood, was charged with felony conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of use of tear gas and felony animal cruelty. He was previously arrested in Los Angeles in 2018 at a Black Lives Matter protest meant to intimidate former district attorney Jackie Lacey.
Joseph Austin Gaskins, charged with felony conspiracy and assault with a deadly weapon, had been arrested at a Black Lives Matter-antifa riot in August 2020 in San Diego. An officer suffered a concussion after Gaskins allegedly struck him on the head with a cane. He was charged with assault, resisting arrest and possessing a dagger. His current bail is set at $250,000 and he was bonded out on Tuesday.
Faraz Martin Talab, of La Canada Flintridge, is charged with felony conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon, tear gas usage and vandalism. He was previously arrested for brawling against conservative attendees of an anti-Governor Gavin Newsom rally in March. A relative of Talab told Newsweek they recognize him in footage recorded at the January riot.
Brian Lightfoot, of Los Angeles, is charged with felony conspiracy, multiple counts of use of tear gas and assault with a deadly weapon. He was previously arrested at an anti-police riot in Hollywood in March where three officers were injured by rioters throwing projectiles. The criminal complaint on the January 9 riot says Lightfoot ran after fleeing victims and struck a person on the back with a wooden stick. Photographer Cocozza identifies himself to Newsweek as that victim.
"Video evidence analysis shows that overwhelmingly the violence in this incident was perpetrated by the Antifa affiliates and was not a mutual fray with both sides crossing out of lawful First Amendment expression into riot and violence," reads a press release from the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. San Diego mayor Todd Gloria originally responded to the riot by blaming racism and fascism.
Antifa groups on Twitter have been fundraising "emergency bail" for their comrades using various CashApp and Venmo accounts. The two mobile payment services have become the preferred crowdfunding applications for far-left groups due to the platforms allowing users to operate under pseudonyms and to crowdfund for violent criminal suspects. A spokesperson for Paypal, who owns Venmo, told Newsweek the service allows any legal fundraising regardless of the nature of the criminal allegations.
Eight of the nine suspects who were arraigned this week with bail each set between $200,000–$250,000 were bonded out the same or following day.
"I think that goes to show this is an organized group," says assault victim Cocozza. "The fact that these guys are able to post bond so fast—who's paying for that?"
A readiness hearing for those arraigned this week is set for December 15 and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 17.
馃毃馃憞 BONUS RELATED 馃憞馃毃
馃毃馃憞 ADDED THIS VIDEO AS A BONUS 馃憞馃毃Antifa is the paramiltary wing for the deep state globalists. All Democrats and most Republicans are deep state. (emphasis mine)
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