Xavier Becerra, Whittier College

Summary

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and California Assembly Majority Leader Ian C. Calderon held an open forum at Whittier College designed to function as a Q&A for people to learn about Becerra’s and Calderon’s efforts to protect California’s values. Since the event was open to the public, about 25 protestors gathered at the auditorium and began disrupting the event. The hecklers were Trump supporters who were upset about Becerra’s lawsuit against the Trump administration over its decision to discontinue the federal DACA program. These protestors kept up a continuous chorus of boos, slogans, and insults throughout the event. Although Becerra and Calderon made multiple attempts to encourage the protestors to let the event continue or to ask questions, the protestors refused—citing their First Amendment rights. Due to the constant interruptions, the event, scheduled for an hour, was cut short at about 34 minutes—preventing most of the audience from being able to question Becerra and Calderon. It appears that most or all of the protestors were not students at Whittier and thus the school did not announce any investigation into the protests.