SLO County DA speaks at California secession group’s event with activist Candace Owens
Elected San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow spoke at a fundraiser in Pismo Beach Tuesday featuring a controversial conservative commentator and activist, for a group that wants to secede from the State of California.
And on the same day the county Public Health Department shared new state rules governing public gatherings, participants in the well-attended event were clustered together without wearing masks, video and photos spread across social media show.
The event was the latest in which a San Luis Obispo County nonpartisan elected law enforcement official has weighed in on matters of public interest to a private audience.
Dow — who has previously criticized Black Lives Matter protesters and declared San Luis Obispo County a “sanctuary for worship and praise” amid state and county COVID-19 restrictions — posted a photo to Twitter Tuesday praising activist Candace Owens, a rising star in right-wing conservative circles for her stances systemic racism and the dangers of coronavirus.
“It was great to meet @realCandaceO a great American tonight,” Dow wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “Wow! She is not afraid to speak the truth.”
In video of the event, Owens is seen telling attendees, “It’s so beautiful to be in this room and see people not wearing masks.”
“From the very beginning, I was not afraid of COVID-19,” Owens said. “You’re not going to tell me to be afraid of a virus — I’m afraid of socialism, not COVID-19.”
She discusses several topics, including her disbelief in the idea of systemic racism and her distrust of liberals.
Asked how she keeps her “upbeat” demeanor, Owens told the crowd, “I genuinely find the left to be ridiculous and hilarious.”
Owens, who is Black, has become an outspoken voice of support for President Donald Trump amid flagging support among ethnic minorities. She is also a supporter of the Blue Lives Matter movement and is a founder of the Blexit Foundation, which says it “aims to uplift and empower minorities to realize the American Dream.”
Her Pismo Beach appearance came three days after she and the Blexit Foundation held a pro-law enforcement rally and march in Washington, D.C., that Owens said was attended by thousands of people and concluded with an event at the White House.
News reports later revealed that Blexit paid for some of the attendees’ travel and lodging for the event.
Owens found notoriety through appearances on Fox News and far-right programs such as Info Wars, after beginning her professional career championing traditionally liberal causes.
Tuesday’s $100-per-person event at the Thousand Hills Ranch in Pismo Beach — the same venue at which Republican U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes of Tulare held a clandestine fundraiser in June 2019 — was hosted by New California State, a group that seeks to divide California into two states, one rural and one urban.
According to the group’s website, members believe the current State of California is “governed by tyranny,” and seeks to “re-establish and restore our constitutional freedoms following the same process as West Virginia to establish their statehood.”
“Californians are fleeing the state at record levels,” the group’s website says. “Taxes on everything, escalating prices, too many regulations, constant attempts against our 2nd Amendment rights, forced vaccinations, a horrible education system, and the list goes on and on. Our state government is operating like a dictatorship, not constitutionally.”
The group has a particular interest in Owens, dedicating an entire section of its website to her speaking events.
In response to questions from The Tribune, Dow said he finds Owens to be “inspirational.”
“Candace Owens is a bright and intelligent, fearless woman and a role model for young women everywhere,” Dow wrote in a brief email response to The Tribune on Wednesday.
Asked about the safety of those in attendance during a pandemic, Dow said he felt it was “a responsible outdoor gathering protected under the First Amendment.”
Asked about his views on the aims of the New California State, Dow wrote: “I haven’t given it any thought.”
Dow did not respond to followup questions.
Owens slams BLM, hip-hop, and ‘rich elitist Democrats’
The event began with an introduction by New California’s vice president Paul Preston, who introduced Dow to what sounds like a large crowd.
“We’re going to take a moment to celebrate the First Amendment,” Dow said as he opened the speaking portion of the event. “Our forefathers started this country primarily to have the freedoms in our Constitution, but the most important one is really the freedom to worship.”
He said: “They didn’t want King George to be able to tell them how and where to worship, and when they could, and how they had to do it, and how much money they had to give to the church. So we’re going to celebrate our First Amendment and the fact that we live in a free country where we can pray in any way we see fit according to our own faith traditions.”
Dow then led the crowd in a minutes-long prayer.
During her roughly 35-minute speech, Owens discussed a host of alleged failures by California Democrats and social justice movements familiar to conservative talk radio.
During her time at the podium, she railed against “Hollywood elitists” and the state’s public school system, which she said is forcing children to learn about gender identity and the “LGBT bubble” under the guise of teaching about gay rights.
“And they’re doing this to children!” Owens said. “This is brainwashing — they’re experimenting on kids.”
She said if not stopped, a liberal public education system will lead to “kids running around like little Marxists.” Owens also spoke at length about her opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement, which she called “one of the most racist movements that ever existed in this country.”
“Just six, seven years ago, I was a liberal. And I believed that Republicans were racists, that conservatives were racists,” she said, blaming her former ideology on her public school education. “When I was in school it wasn’t fashionable to hate America .... Now things are rapidly shifting. Anything that has to do with the West is inherently racist.”
She also claimed the Black Lives Matter movement is run by “rich elitist Democrats” that raise millions of dollars for the cause that don’t go back into the black community.
“They tell me, ‘You don’t understand Black culture. You don’t understand,’” she said. “I am not trying to understand the culture, I’m trying to reform it.”
She then criticized hip hop music, saying she grew up listening to Motown and other music that had “family values.”
Also in attendance at the event, according to Dow’s speech, were North County Supervisor Debbie Arnold and San Luis Obispo City Council candidate Abrianna Torres, who has told potential constituents that she is nonpartisan.
Torres, who is Black, has campaigned partially on her criticism of the Black Lives Matter Movement and local protesters, as well as her brief experience as a Sheriff’s Office correctional officer.
Neither Arnold nor Torres responded to a request for comment on Tuesday’s event.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 3:51 PM.
