Siskiyou County s Hmong community gathers in Yreka for protest
Members of the Hmong Community peacefully gathered outside the Siskiyou County Courthouse to advocate for equality in the community.
Posted: Jul 6, 2021 3:21 PM
Updated: Jul 6, 2021 6:04 PM
Posted By: Adam Schumes
YREKA, Calif. - Members of Siskiyou County s Hmong community rallied outside the Siskiyou County courthouse on Tuesday after a week that saw smoldering tensions between the Hmong and county authorities become animated by the Lava Fire.
The Mount Shasta Vista Subdvision, where many of the Hmong own property, was placed under an evacuation order on June 28 as the Lava Fire made a big push to the north. From the beginning, evacuation efforts in the subdivision went sour, as some of the residents distrustful of the fire crews and Sheriff s Office deputies insisted on staying behind to fight the fire.
Liz Bowen
Liz Writes Life
Last Friday, I listened to a significant zoom meeting. It was held in Tulelake with our Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors cooperatively meeting with Modoc County Supervisors and the Klamath County Commissioners. The goal of the meeting was to approve two letters: One to California and Oregon Congress officials and state legislators asking for financial help regarding the Klamath Project due to its tragic lack of irrigation water for 2021. The second was to U.S. President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. also asking for help.
Our Siskiyou County Board Chairman Ray Haupt, made the motions to approve both letters, which passed overwhelmingly.
Siskiyou Daily News
Despite his defense attorney alleging that racial bias may be in play, Siskiyou County Superior Court Judge Karen Dixon increased Hmong businessman Mouyang Lee s bail from $2 million to $3 million at a bail hearing last week. She cited concerns that Lee was playing a shell game to launder the money he was intending to use for bail, and said she s concerned that he could be a flight risk since he has family in Thailand.
Lee was arrested Oct. 7, 2020 on money laundering charges connected to illegal cannabis grows on parcels in the Mt. Shasta Vista area in central Siskiyou County. He s also charged with tax evasion, conspiracy, and transportation or sale of marijuana, according to court records.