Black man escorted out of Shasta County meeting for protesting white man’s use of N-word (with video, Redding, Calif. Record-Searchlight, May 30, 2023)

A Black man was kicked out of Tuesday’s Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting after he objected to a white speaker using the N-word while addressing the five-member board.

Nathan Pinkney was escorted from the chamber by a Securitas security guard after board chair Patrick Jones got upset with him for speaking out from his seat in the audience.

The man who used the slur, frequent board attendee Alex Bielecki, was not chastised.

Jeff Gorder, who retired as Shasta County public defender in 2018, scolded Jones for not stopping Bielecki from talking.

“The Constitutional right of free speech is not unlimited. You can’t yell fire in this crowded room or disturbing the peace to use offensive words that are likely to result in a violent action. You don’t tolerate that kind of language here. You should gavel that down and shut it down,” Gorder said.

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