BEHIND THE HEADLINES Benito Acosta

A judge last week dismissed Costa Mesa’s case against Benito Acosta, who had been charged on two misdemeanor counts of disrupting a January 2006 City Council meeting at which Acosta protested a city plan to train police officers to enforce immigration laws.

A media storm ensued after Acosta’s arrest at that council meeting, and the ACLU filed a federal suit against Costa Mesa on behalf of Acosta, who goes by the name Coyotl Tezcatlipoca.

Acosta, a former student at Orange Coast College, agreed to answer questions posed by the Daily Pilot after the court ruling and a subsequent appellate court rejection of the city’s appeal.

Question: What was your reaction to the judge’s dismissal of Costa Mesa’s case against you?

Answer: If you saw me after the trial, I had a big smile on my face and relief because I could go back to my normal life of school and work. This has been a stressful experience, and I am glad it is over.

Q: Do you feel exonerated?

A: No, because I never felt guilty of any wrongdoing to start with. I always felt that the city’s prosecution was political, that they were protecting views they agreed with and punishing those they didn’t.

Q: What do you believe was the city’s reason for attempting to prosecute you for the Jan. 3, 2006, incident?

A: I believe it was reprisal after I filed a civil lawsuit against the city. The city waited three months to file charges against me. The prosecutor in my case worked in the same firm that defended the city in our civil case. I feel that they were trying to improve their case against me by convicting me of an imaginary crime. That strategy failed when the judge exposed the prosecutor’s conflict of interest.

Q: Given the chance, would you do anything differently? Do you feel you did anything wrong?

A: No. Remember, I was cut off by the mayor before my comment time was over and dragged out of the council room and beaten by police just for asking that people who opposed this campaign against immigrants stand in solidarity. Other groups had done that earlier in the meeting.

Q: How did this case affect you personally?

A: It turned my life upside down. Even though I believed this case was vindictive and unjustified, I took the charges very seriously. It’s a very stressful experience when a government turns its power against you.

Q: What is your opinion of Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor?

A: No comment.

Q: What is your opinion on Costa Mesa having a federal agent checking the citizenship status of arrestees?

A: I still believe that Costa Mesa is wrong to try to erase the line between local law enforcement and federal immigration policy. That line is there to protect everyone who lives here. When you’re afraid you or someone you know will be deported for speaking out, then you’re more likely to become a victim. I hope that that if enough people speak out we can reverse this policy.

Q: Where will you be in 10 years?

A: Teaching history or political science, maybe psychology but teaching for sure.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I hope to transfer out of Orange Coast College to a UC by the fall of 2008.