The Mayor of Yakima, Washington, Janice Deccio, has reported being subjected to harassment following the online release of her 911 call, where she reported a group of "far right-wing" petition signature gatherers at a local Walmart.
In the call made on September 3rd, Mayor Deccio can be heard stating, "Theres some far right-wing petitioners at Walmart and they donttheyre not leaving. Walmart has asked them repeatedly to do so, and the police have not taken them off the premises."
Over the Labor Day weekend, activists were collecting signatures for six ballot initiatives in Washington, concerning taxes, parental rights, and police pursuits. The initiatives are backed by a group named Lets Go Washington, which has yet to respond to Fox News' request for comment.
The audio recording of Mayor Deccio's 911 call was first made public on YouTube by conservative commentator Glen Morgan. During the call, both the dispatcher and a supervisor informed Deccio that under state law, the petitioners have the right to gather signatures on private property, and that Walmart would need a court order to remove them.
According to the Washington Secretary of State's office, "Gathering signatures for ballot measure petitions is a constitutionally guaranteed practice in the State of Washington." The law, however, does not explicitly define the extent to which businesses or private property owners can exclude petitioners.
Mayor Deccio is set to address this issue at the Yakima City Council meeting on Tuesday night. In a statement provided to Fox News, she mentioned that a constituent informed her about "an extreme right-wing group was petitioning at Walmart and creating problems for shoppers."
Deccio wrote, "I dont care, nor even know what they were petitioning about, just that he told me they were harassing shoppers and that the manager had called the police numerous times during the week after she had asked the petitioners to move from the entrance of the store."
Walmart has declined to comment on the incident or its policies regarding signature gathering efforts. A spokesperson for the Yakima Police Department confirmed the 911 call and stated that without a court order, officers would not remove signature gatherers from business property.
The spokesperson added, "Complaints about other criminal activity are investigated and addressed accordingly. Whether or not signature gatherers have a right of access on private property is determined by a balancing test of three factors: the nature and use of the property; the impact of the decision upon the effectiveness of the initiative or referendum; and the scope of the invitation that the owner of the property has extended. Decisions are made based on the facts of each individual situation."
In her statement, Deccio admitted, "I was unaware of all the nuances of the law at that time, though, and, in hindsight, I could have waited to hear from the chief. No one told the group they couldnt petition, and it was certainly not my intention to stop them."
Since the incident, Deccio has reported that "numerous credible local people" have informed her of the petitioners aggressive, even threatening behavior. She has also received hundreds of harassing texts, emails, and voicemails since the release of the 911 call, which did not redact her phone number.
One voicemail Deccio shared with Fox News included a man saying, "I was just wondering how a beautiful face could be such a liberal c--- to like, stop democracy."
Deccio also reported that her husband, "a disabled veteran with PTSD," and her fellow counselors have been subjected to harassment, with the majority of the emails originating from outside of Yakima, a city with a population of fewer than 100,000 residents.
Yakima County, located in central Washington, has not voted for a Democratic president in at least four decades.
Deccio joined the city council last year and was nominated to serve as mayor by her fellow councilors, as reported by the Yakima Herald-Republic. Both the mayor and council positions are nonpartisan.
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