The ACLU of Southern California has decided to intervene on behalf of Downey community advocate Juan Martinez, defending his right to criticize the General Manager of the Central Basin Municipal Water District.

Throughout the pandemic, Martinez has been outspoken at Central Basin Board meetings that were held on Zoom up until the March 27th, 2023 in-person meeting. During his public comment, Martinez was ordered removed after he criticized Central Basin’s General Manager Alex Rojas.

As recounted by the ACLU’s 4/21/23 letter to Central Basin, video footage shows that during the open session, Martinez said “Please let the record reflect that I have shared an 18-count criminal complaint filed by the D.A. George Gascon against Alex Rojas.”

Just as Martinez finished the sentence, Central Basin Board President Arturo Chacon banged the gavel, saying “you’re out of order” and ordered the removal of Martinez by armed security.

Writing for the ACLU, attorney Jonathan Markovitz said “the Board had no substantive basis for preventing Mr. Martinez from speaking.” He cited the case of Baca v. Moreno Valley Unified School District, which found that the open session is a “legally proper place for citizens to voice their complaints about a school district’s employees.”

The letter also noted that Martinez was “calm, patient, and cooperative,” and that it was “the content of Mr. Martinez’s speech rather than disruptive conduct that led to his being declared ‘out of order,’ silenced, and forcibly removed from the proceedings.”

Markovitz continued, “The Board’s decision to silence and remove Mr. Martinez violated the Brown Act,” and notified the Board that it must respond within 30 days, “providing its unconditional commitment to cease, desist from, and not repeat the violations.” If the Board fails to respond, further legal action may be pursued and “Mr. Martinez would be entitled to court costs and attorneys fees.”

In a comment to SELA Report, Mr. Martinez said, “I love our community, and I am fighting for our right to uphold the First Amendment and the Constitution. No constituent should be afraid to speak up to their own government.”

Martinez also pointed to another video that surfaced online in which Central Basin’s President Arturo Chacon threatened Martinez, saying “Why you crying? I haven’t even hit you yet.”

Responding to the video, Martinez said “It saddens me to see that our representatives, in this case the President of the Board, would behave so unprofessionally and would dare intimidate the very constituents they were elected to represent and serve.”

Commenting upon the ACLU’s letter, Martinez said, “With the support of the ACLU, my hopes are that this will encourage members of the public and all activists to speak up and fight for their rights.”