An early childhood educator has been placed on paid administrative leave after her interaction with peaceful protesters in downtown Lompoc during the weekend.
The preschool teacher, identified as Rebecca Arreola, walked up to protesters on the corner of H Street and Ocean Avenue. Video shows Arreola shouting, “Deportation,” and then spelling it out like a cheer, yelling, “Gimme a D.” The interaction later appears to become physical.
Protesters, some armed with signs, gathered Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the four corners of H Street and Ocean Avenue in Lompoc to show their opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
After identifying the woman and her employer, social media posts urged people to send emails to the Santa Barbara County Education Office.
“SBCEO is aware of an incident involving one of our employees during a protest in Lompoc over the weekend. The incident is being investigated and will be handled with care,” SBCEO representatives said in the statement.
“The employee involved has been placed on administrative leave effective today. As a public agency, state and federal laws require us to keep personnel matters confidential; therefore, the investigation and any related outcomes will remain confidential.
“As always, SBCEO is committed to fostering a safe and supportive environment for all.”
Arreola has worked for SBCEO since June 2000, first as an instructional assistant for several years, and then as a teacher, all in SBCEO’s Early Care and Education preschool programs.
Most recently, she has served as a coach and a teacher on special assignment in the Lompoc, Orcutt, Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Valley areas.
The video shows the woman joining the protest, jumping up and down while shouting as another female records her actions.
The recordings also reveal Arreola reaching out and appearing to push a protester’s sign during the interaction. A protester reminds Arreola of the First Amendment right to protest before saying, “Tell her to let go then” and “She hit me first.”
The video recording quickly spread on social media sites and ended up on the YouTube channel of ThatDaneshGuy, who provides commentary plus a recap from a person who was at the encounter.
The incident involving Arreola plus another involving a different person the next day were reported to the Lompoc Police Department later, but the report had not been completed Monday afternoon, Chief Kevin Martin said.