Joaquín Beltrán, who in 2022 ran for election to the U.S. Home of Representatives from California’s forty second Congressional District, and, since shedding the first, has labored tirelessly within the curiosity of public well being on problems with COVID-19 security, focusing particularly on making an attempt to maintain masks in healthcare settings, was harassed immediately after testifying on the LA County Public Well being Fee Assembly.
Beltrán shared on social media that he was “adopted and harassed for about half a mile by two people who attended public remark” and waited for him to go downstairs and out of doors. Whereas he was asking them to cease harassing him, and making an attempt to stroll away from them, he was hit by an individual driving a automotive, who ended up leaving the scene of the accident. Beltrán ended up going to the hospital to for x-rays and was informed he’ll want a follow-up MRI. In true Beltrán vogue, he handed out masks for people within the ready room who wished them.
On Thursday night, he posted an replace:
Lastly discharged with a knee brace, crutches, anti-inflammatory shot, and a suggestion for an MRI subsequent. One good factor that got here out of me being within the hospital: extra folks had been supplied with masks. Thanks for all of the considerate messages.
Beltrán has been working as a part of the Motion-Care-Fairness coalition (ACE), which they describe on their web site:
ACE is a community-led coalition that is constructing collective energy to guard each member of our communities. We’re taking motion and demanding well being care that’s equitable now.
For extra details about the work of the Motion-Care-Fairness coalition or to hitch their activism in Los Angeles, try their web site. And for extra details about Joaquín Beltrán and his public well being activism, comply with him on X.
On X, Beltran posted that he had by no means seen nor met the 2 individuals who had been harassing him, however X customers shortly recognized a minimum of one of many pair. The individual within the Bernie t-shirt is “medical freedom”-loving Ian Jameson, who has been an anti-vaccine and anti-vaccine mandate activist in the course of the pandemic. Downtown Los Angeles Information featured him in an article about anti-vaccine and anti-vaccine mandates again in December 2021:
Ian Jameson, founding father of Los Angeles Leftists for Alternative and Unity, is an activist who attends the weekly CEMF [California Educators for Medical Freedom] rallies and is an lively supporter of bodily autonomy relating to a proper to decide on being vaccinated.
Jameson, who will be seen sporting a Bernie Sanders shirt at each anti-vaccine mandate protest he attends, mentioned his attire determination is intentional and coincides with the message of his newly based group.
“The pharma-owned and so-called liberal media have made (vaccines and something coping with vaccines) a political subject, and it’s not. It is a nonpartisan subject,” he mentioned. “Anybody who objects to the vaccines or factors to vaccine opposed reporting are dismissed as right-wing conspiracy theorists. I’m not proper wing.”
Jameson’s intention of combatting the narrative that skepticism for COVID-19 vaccines is a political subject, however extra so a right-wing subject, additionally stems from a perception that “it is a lethally and tragic occasion the place liberals are doing a 180 on accountable skepticism of company America,” he mentioned.
Jameson mentioned his causes for persevering with to protest vaccines and mandates has to do with entities like LAUSD authorizing mandates requiring vaccination however in the end being in opposition to COVID-19 vaccines and vaccines on the whole.
“When all of this COVID stuff ends, I don’t need to return to what was regular previous to COVID, as a result of what was regular was not medical freedom. Medical freedom signifies that the federal government has no proper to intrude together with your personal medical selections,” he mentioned.