12/4/2023 0 Comments Capitol lockdown today"I thought it was one of the most peaceful and patriotic protests that I'd ever seen," Collins said in an interview. Seven other people were also arrested that day, including Kenneth Collins.Ĭollins is in his 70s and told NPR that he went to the pier just to observe the protest. (He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and the case remains pending.) The Orange County district attorney charged Hostetter with resisting and obstructing an officer, refusal to disperse and trespassing - all misdemeanors. Sheriff's deputies eventually had to cut hand-shaped holes in the fence so they could handcuff and arrest Hostetter, while protesters cheered him on. So he grabbed a piece of the chain-link fence and held on, even after police declared an unlawful assembly. Hostetter viewed it as tyrannical government overreach. San Clemente had put up chain-link fencing by the city's pier to discourage people from parking and congregating. Residents on both the left and right of the political spectrum agree that the moment in which Hostetter became a leader of the movement came later that month, in an incident locals refer to as "Fence-gate." "But, damn it, I am doing it now."Īt those protests, he ditched the white tunics and Buddha-themed T-shirts, opting instead for a fedora and shorts, both emblazoned with the American flag. "I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would actually be in a position to have to defend my fellow countrymen and women from domestic enemies," Hostetter said at a May 2020 protest in Huntington Beach, Calif. Less than a year into the job, he retired because of spinal problems.ĭuring his retirement in the quiet, beachside city of San Clemente, the Army veteran and former police chief took a turn: He found yoga, meditation and sound healing. In 2009, he was named police chief of La Habra, Calif. He returned to California, applied for a job with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, and served in law enforcement throughout the 1990s and 2000s. From police chief, to yogi, to protest leaderīefore Hostetter found himself pleading not guilty in a federal courtroom, his life had already taken several turns.Īfter graduating from high school in the 1980s, he joined the U.S. And the case of Alan Hostetter reveals how the 2020 protests that began as a response to coronavirus-related lockdowns helped fuel a far-right movement supported by Republican political figures and may have contributed to the Capitol riot. More than 500 people are now facing criminal charges related to the attack on the Capitol six months ago. 6 and obstruct Congress from conducting the peaceful transfer of power. Now, Hostetter is facing a criminal indictment alleging that he conspired with anti-government, extremist militiamen to bring chaos to the U.S. Gavin Newsom and stating that traitors to the country "need to be executed as an example." Less than a year later, he was fantasizing aloud about the Founding Fathers hanging California Gov. He speaks of "peace and tranquility," over an image of himself hitting a gong in front of a golden sun. In the video, he stands on a Southern California cliffside in a white tunic, wearing a turquoise bandana over long hair and a full salt-and-pepper beard. In 2019, Alan Hostetter posted a 20-minute "sunset gong meditation" on his YouTube channel. Mark Rightmire/MediaNews Group via Getty Images Hostetter, a former police chief and yoga instructor, is now facing conspiracy charges for his alleged role in the insurrection at the U.S. Alan Hostetter, seen here in May 2020, became a leading activist against coronavirus-related lockdown policies in Orange County, Calif.
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