A DaVinci student filed a police report following a physical altercation with Beth Bourne
By KATYA OKS — city@theaggie.org
On Feb. 13, students from DaVinci Charter Academy organized a protest denouncing United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions across the nation. During the protest, Beth Bourne, a Davis local known for her anti-transgender activism, arrived outside the school. Upon spotting the protest, she began recording videos of the students and staff.
Bourne is also the Yolo County Chapter chairwoman of Moms for Liberty, a conservative organization encouraging parents to speak up against governmental overreach. This year, Bourne was also involved in similar incidents, such as the UC Davis Turning Point altercation on April 14 and undressing into a bikini at a Davis school board meeting on Sept. 18.
Jacob Smith, a student at DaVinci Charter Academy, discussed his reason for attending the protest.
“Our goal was to spread awareness for the cause, to have our voices heard, to make sure the government figures and local government people just across America are aware of the youth’s disdain for the current actions taking place across the U.S.,” Smith said.
Sofia, a student organizer who only shared her first name, discussed how the mobilization was planned.
“Me and two other students were just reading headlines about what had been happening [with ICE raids] during our ethics study class,” Sofia said. “We wanted to show how upset we were with everything. We decided on a peaceful protest; I printed out sign-up sheets for anybody who’s interested, […] and we made a flyer for protest [information].”
The protest began during the fourth period right before lunch, and lasted until the seventh period. Throughout its duration, approximately half of the student body attended, according to the students interviewed. Several teachers and the principal, Peter Newman, were also present and were supervising the students.
Erin, a DaVinci Charter Academy student who attended the protest, also commented on the presence of school staff during the protest.
“I just want to make it clear [the principal] was only there to keep us safe and was in no way a part of the protest,” Erin said.
Erin also shared some details on the nature of the walkout.
“[The protest] was pretty peaceful,” Erin said. “We were saying chants, we were playing Bad Bunny songs and things like that. And then cars would drive by and honk [for support].”
After the students’ scheduled lunchtime, Bourne arrived at the location of the protest. Bourne was seen recording and questioning attendees and school staff. The video was also posted on her Facebook page.
“I wanted to find if parents were notified about the protest since my son’s school didn’t notify me last week when teachers and administrators helped orchestrate a huge protest and march to downtown Davis, during classtime,” Bourne’s caption reads. “My signs were stolen and ripped up by students. None of the teachers or staff would give me their names.”
The video featured Bourne asking Newman about his involvement in the protest, and then shifted to recording the student protesters. Some students are heard expressing that they do not wish to be recorded, according to the video.
“I prefer not to engage,” Newman said after Bourne asked multiple times whether he teaches at the high school or is involved with the protest.
Erin shared some details on Bourne’s presence during the protest.
“She also had anti-trans signs, which isn’t what we were protesting,” Erin said. “So we were all more confused. And then she was yelling ‘Women don’t have penises’ and stuff like that.”
Sofia discussed her reaction to seeing Bourne record and engage with the students.
“I told people to try to not react to her, because she’s only out here for reaction,” Sofia said. “I said to turn away from her, do not show your face to her and try to react as little as possible.”
The moment then resulted in the alleged physical altercation between Smith and Bourne.
“Me and a few of my friends decided that we don’t want to have our faces published on social media, so we decided to cover our faces with our signs,” Smith said. “And she specifically went up to me and paused for a moment. […] I kept my sign raised, started championing a little bit louder, and as that happened, she chose to crouch down to record me. My friend noticed this before I did, and he came over and blocked my face with another sign so that she couldn’t get that angle. And at that moment, I had realized she was recording me, so I took a step forward in an attempt to get her away from me. And as that took place, she stood up, and she physically kicked me in my right leg.”
When asked about the incident, Bourne shared her perspective.
“I don’t remember hitting anyone,” Bourne said. “ […]There was a boy, and I get down below him so I can get to see what his sign says. [..] And then he yells at me, and then I say, get away from me.”
Bourne then shared her reasoning behind recording the students.
“They’re protesting, Bourne said. “I want to be there too, and I’m going to, of course, record them. And I don’t think the students understand that, but if you’re in the public space, you should assume that you’re going to be recorded.”
Smith shared his reaction to that moment.
“I was definitely filled with a strong amount of emotions, definitely more than a bit of anger,” Smith said. “I attempted to get her away from me, I got up pretty close to her face […] And I made brief contact with her cellular device. It was not strong contact, it was just a light tap. So I was not doing any physical harm to [Bourne’s] body in the way that she did to me.”
Shortly after, police arrived at the school and Smith filed a police report.
The DaVinci Charter Academy did not provide a comment on the situation at the time of writing this article.
Sofia reflected on the events and Bourne’s presence.
“She’s a really hateful person, and her being there didn’t stop us from our initial goal of protesting ICE,” Sofia said. “She can’t silence us with whatever she was trying to do.”
Written By: Katya Oks — city@theaggie.org
