Ibrahim, whose business has become a rallying point for those opposing the city’s closure of businesses deemed non-essential, said he received a $5,000 fine for opening his doors Sunday.
Fresno City Councilmember Garry Bredefeld, who has called Mayor Lee Brand’s shelter-in-place rules that are in place through May 31 “authoritarian,” took to Facebook to criticize Sunday’s actions. “The fight to end this tyranny is just starting and we will win,” Bredefeld wrote.
The video peppered with obscenities that captured the scuffle was posted to Facebook by Ibrahim supporter Richard Tilley, but later taken down as Tilley apologized for the language. He said he would republish it with the sound edited later Sunday. It was later republished, but the obscenities remained.
Ibrahim accused code enforcement officers of using heavy-handed tactics as they served the citation. He said a confrontation could have been avoided if the officers had called his shop ahead of time and asked him to come outside. He also said that police did not have “jurisdiction” in the matter.
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