SAN DIEGO, CA - At the conclusion of a four-week trial, a 12-person jury found two So Cal Antifa members guilty of felony conspiracy charges. According to a report from the Post Millennial, evidence proved that two men from Los Angeles conspired as part of So Cal Antifa to confront supporters of former President Donald Trump at Pacific Beach over three years ago.
The defendants, identified as 41-year-old Jeremy Jonathan White and 27-year-old Brian Cortez Lightfoot Jr., were both accused of assaulting Trump supporters and others on a beach boardwalk. Ten other Antifa members were already convicted in plea deals, including 32-year-old Luis Francisco Mora, who took his own last-minute plea deal prior to the start of the trial.
Lightfoot had six assault charges on him and the jury were deadlocked in their decision on to find him guilty of those charges. However, Lightfoot, who has been accused of being one of the "ringleaders" of the riot, was found guilty of conspiracy to riot and five felony unlawful uses of teargas. The jury also found White guilty of conspiracy to riot and acquitted him of felony assault of a man on a bicycle who was documenting the Antifa rioters on his cell phone.
The verdict that came in against these two brings the total to 12 for 12 charged So Cal Antifa members who were convicted of violent felonies related to this incident at Pacific Beach three years ago. According to the report from PM, 11 suspects, with nearly half from Los Angeles County, were indicted back in 2022 by a secret grand jury.
These individuals were indicted on dozens of felony charges, including conspiracy to riot, assault, and other violent crimes. Nine of them — 33-year-old Alexander Akridge-Jacobs, 33-year-old Jesse Merel Cannon, 23-year-old Joseph Austin Gaskins, 25-year-old Christian Martinez, 26-year-old Samuel Howard Odgen, 22-year-old Bryan Rivera, 29-year-old Faraz Martin Talab, 40-year-old Erich Yach, and 32-year-old Luis Francisco Mora — have all pleaded guilty.
A 12th co-conspirator, Jonah Abraham Bigel, pleaded guilty back in 2021 to assault with a deadly weapon after having reportedly used a baseball bat during the riot. Bigel was given a suspended prison sentence. Within six months and into the following year, 2022, the others were indicted by a secret grand jury.
A majority of those who accepted plea deals are still awaiting their sentencing. All of them are expected to be sentenced to prison, with two defendants, Erich "Nikki" Yach, a male to female transgender and Jesse Merel Cannon, who have already been sentenced to up to five years in prison. Their sentences were impacted by other violent felony crimes they each committed in unrelated cases. The criminal history background increased their chances of being issued the higher end of the sentencing allotment.
The trial began on April 2nd, with prosecutors presenting evidence against White and Lightfoot. The evidence included: hours of riot video, recovered encrypted Signal messages, private texts, aerial video from a police helicopter, photographs, and testimony from victims and law enforcement witnesses.
During the first week of the trial, San Diego Police Detective Emily Clark said in her testimony, "I hadn't seen a group that coordinated." Lead prosecutor Makenzie Harvey showed jurors the armored black costume and mask worn by White at the riot. White claimed it was a "volunteer medic," yet he was armed with bear mace, a knife, and a taser. Online, White called himself the "Antifa Soldier" and "ACABman. His co-defendant Lightfoot used "Antifa commander" as one of his aliases.
During closing arguments, defense attorney Curtis Briggs repeated the claim that White was "nonviolent and protecting" people. He said, "He did not hit or kick or assault anyone that day. They want you to convict him anyways. The Proud Boys are out there, they are yelling, '(expletive) Antifa!' They are a real threat."
After the trial, assault victim John Cocozza said, "While I am disappointed the assault charges ended up in a hung jury, the more important charges of conspiracy they were found guilty. Hopefully they will be given the maximum sentencing." White and Lightfoot, plus seven other Antifa co-conspirators who already made plea deals are scheduled to be sentenced on June 28th.