SAN FRANCISCO — A white nationalist group set up a memorial for Kate Steinle near where she was shot at Pier 14, just one of several impassioned reactions after an undocumented immigrant was found not guilty of murder in her shooting death, CBS San Francisco reports.
The group, called Identity Evropa, decorated the memorial with flowers, candles, and messages that read “Build the wall” and that Steinle’s death “will be avenged.”
The group posted about the memorial through its Twitter account late Thursday night and Friday morning, calling for a boycott of San Francisco and saying the acquittal was “an indictment of not only San Francisco but our country overall.”
Jose Ines Garcia Zarate – a man who had previously been deported five times – was acquitted of both murder and manslaughter with the verdict handed down by the jury Thursday afternoon. He was only found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
A memorial set up on a San Francisco pier to Kate Steinle.
Friday morning, the White House released a statement, saying in part, “Had San Francisco enforced our nation’s immigration laws, the Steinle family would be celebrating this holiday with all of their loved ones.”
Thursday evening, President Trump took to Twitter to decry the verdict. After the jury’s decision was announced, the president tweeted the verdict was “disgraceful.”
Friday morning, he continued to criticize the verdict on Twitter.
Some people walking along the Embarcadero paused for a moment at Pier 14 to look at the memorial. Those who work and live in San Francisco were still trying to come to terms with the jury’s decision.
“It feels like the verdict could have been harsher,” said Pleasanton resident Lisa Thordsen. “That’s something else to look at. But that’s for our politicians to look at as well and how they handle cases like that. Someone may have dropped the ball on the prosecution side.”
“Looking at it and the gun powder, that part right there is kind of what gave me doubt of the intent,” said Kristin Kboy of San Francisco.
The decision made those CBS San Francisco talked to put themselves in the jurors’ shoes.
“I wasn’t sitting in the juror box. I imagine those people are having deep thoughts over their coffees this morning,” said Thordsen.
Garcia Zarate is back in court on December 14th. That is when his sentencing date will be announced.
Federal officials got an arrest warrant for Garcia Zarate days after the shooting, which they say was a violation of his supervised release on the illegal re-entry conviction. A judge unsealed that warrant Friday.
Michael Cardoza, a longtime San Francisco Bay Area lawyer, said the prosecutor overreached in asking for a first-degree murder conviction, which would have meant that Garcia Zarate intended to kill Steinle despite strong evidence that the bullet ricocheted around 90 feet before striking her.
Cardoza said a better case could have been made to convince jurors that Garcia Zarate had a “reckless disregard for human life” and to convict him of second-degree murder.
Steinle’s father, Jim, told the San Francisco Chronicle that “justice was rendered, but it was not served.”
“We’re just shocked – saddened and shocked … that’s about it,” he said in an interview described as the family’s last.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other leading Democrats are calling on a freshman House lawmaker considered a rising star in the party to resign his seat after allegations surfaced that he sexually harassed one of his campaign aides.
In an article published Friday by BuzzFeed, Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) was accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward his then-campaign finance director. The woman, identified only as Samantha, told BuzzFeed that Kihuen propositioned her for dates and sex and twice touched her thighs without consent.
“In Congress, no one should face sexual harassment in order to work in an office or in a campaign. The young woman’s documented account is convincing, and I commend her for the courage it took to come forward,” Pelosi said in a statement released early Saturday morning. “In light of these upsetting allegations, Congressman Kihuen should resign.”
Earlier, Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), the party’s campaign chief, said politicians “guilty of sexual harassment or sexual assault . . . should not hold elected office.”
“Members and candidates must be held to the highest standard,” Luján said. “Congressman Kihuen should resign.”
Kihuen becomes the latest figure on Capitol Hill whose political future is in doubt because of accusations of misconduct. Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), the longest-serving member of Congress, is under pressure from House Democratic leaders to resign amid allegations he sexually harassed and mistreated multiple female aides. And Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) came under additional scrutiny Thursday when a fifth woman accused him of inappropriate touching.
Conyers and Franken are under investigation by congressional ethics committees, but it remains unclear whether the allegations will force them from office. Franken has apologized, and his office said Thursday that he never “intentionally engaged in this kind of conduct.” Conyers, through his attorney, denied the allegations of harassment and mistreatment altogether Friday.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), a political ally of Kihuen’s, said she supports a “full, fair and expedient” investigation into his behavior. She did not call on him to resign.
“Sexual harassment in any context is unacceptable. I am frustrated, disappointed, and disgusted by the stories I have learned from women and men who were harassed and disrespected by powerful men,” Cortez Masto said in a statement.
Kihuen, a protege of retired Senate majority leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), holds a seat previously represented by a Republican, Cresent Hardy.
Asked for a response to the BuzzFeed story, a spokesman for Kihuen did not reply.
“The staff member in question was a valued member of my team,” Kihuen said in a statement. “I sincerely apologize for anything that I may have said or done that made her feel uncomfortable. I take this matter seriously as it is not indicative of who I am. I was raised in a strong family that taught me to treat women with the utmost dignity and respect. I have spent my fifteen years in public service fighting for women’s equality, and I will continue to do so.”
