Attorney Hamasaki allowed that there are small, local groups which are anti-fascist, “But there is not a collective Antifa.”

Attorneys from San Francisco argued before a San Diego Superior Court judge lin September that there is no such thing as Antifa and thus the conspiracy to riot charge should be dismissed. 

Attorneys John Hamasaki and Curtis Briggs each represent one defendant accused of multiple felonies, after confrontations between Antifa and Patriots in Pacific Beach on January 9, 2021. Both attorneys flew to San Diego from San Francisco for a hearing Sept. 12, 2023 and spoke to Judge Daniel Goldstein for more than twenty minutes each. 

Both alleged Antifa defendants, Brian Cortez Lightfoot Jr., 26, and Jeremy Jonathan White, 40, are from the Los Angeles area. They were part of 11 defendants charged with conspiracy to riot and 28 other felonies in the indictment; so far, six defendants have made plea deals, and all but one admitted being part of Antifa; the five remaining defendants continue to plead not-guilty to all charges.

Jeremy White "is very passionate about helping people. His job in his mind is to be a caretaker.”

Ten defendants currently remain at liberty on their own recognizance. Only one defendant, Erich Yach, 39, made a plea deal early, he admitted three violent felonies and is now in California State prison. Yach, who is from San Diego County, will be eligible for parole in April 2024.

Hamasaki and Briggs argued last week that the conspiracy to riot charge should be dismissed, in part because there is no actual organization known as Antifa.

"There is no evidence the individuals were part of some extremist group,” attorney Hamasaki said. "(But rather) they were friends and agreed to go to this event together.” He said Antifa was an idea from "outside,” that Antifa is a "rightwing trope,” and "There is no Antifa.”

Hamasaki insisted there is no group in which "all must agree to certain values… there is no evidence of a group or membership or an organization.” Hamasaki insisted that it is "right wing media outlets” which declare an Antifa.

"Anti-fascism is in line with the people of this country, we should oppose fascism in all its forms,” Hamasaki informed the judge. The San Francisco attorney allowed that there are small, local groups which are anti-fascist, "But there is not a collective Antifa.”

Hamasaki: "There is evidence they knew each other, but had no bank accounts together.” And, "There is no THEY, that THEY all do these things. It is highly prejudicial to say THEY all do these things because THEY are Antifa.”

When the judge inquired about whether alleged Antifa persons commonly dress all in black, Hamasaki conceded some "Commonality in direction and behavior.”

Hamasaki and the other attorney from San Francisco, Curtis Briggs, both protested certain testimony that was presented to the grand jury, especially that of Antifa expert Dawn Perlmutter.

Perlmutter testified for two days, and said: "It is almost like urban guerrilla warfare. They are prepared to do battle. They gear up to fight with protesters.” Hamasaki said her testimony was, "Impermissible and irrelevant evidence. (Dr. Perlmutter testified that) they are communists or socialists, it is improper! This is not admissible….She was definitely political….The inference is that they are violent because of their politics.”

Hamasaki declared Dr. Perlmutter’s testimony to be "Incompetent and irrelevant!” and asked the judge to dismiss the entire grand jury indictment.

Judge Goldstein commented, "I don’t know what Antifa is. I went over her testimony (transcripts). I think they are a much looser organization from her testimony, than what I see in the (evidence) video.”

The judge remarked, "The jury saw in the (evidence) videos what she actually testified to.”

When attorney Curtis Briggs took his turn to speak to the judge, he first said, "This case is important to society.” And when he first used the term "Antifa,” he quickly qualified, "If this group even exists, it is morpheus."

Briggs acknowledged that his client Jeremy Jonathan White is seen in evidence video wearing all black, and wearing red cross medic patches. "He put a medic patch on, he put himself in front of angry people he was trying to protect. His intention was to be benevolent, to be an important part of society,” Briggs said.

When the judge inquired about White’s medic training, attorney Briggs said, "He was self-identified as a medic. You can see on his social media. He is very passionate about helping people. His job in his mind is to be a caretaker.”

Although San Diego prosecutors want to try all five remaining Antifa defendants together, in the same trial, the judge said that is "unwieldy” and "unworkable.” The judge said he wants to "try two or three of them” at one time, meaning there might be two separate trials. There was discussion the judge would hear one trial the first week of December, and then another trial in February of 2024.