17 suspects arrested for violent clashes in Sikh American community

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, left, Sutter County DA Jennifer Depre, (center) and Sacramento DA Thien Ho at the
press conference announcing the arrests of 17 gang members.

Arrests of 17 individuals will stem the violence including sword fights, fisticuffs and shootings that have been ruining recent celebrations of the northern California Sikh community.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Yuba City Police Chief Brian Baker, and Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupré announced Sunday, April 16 that law enforcement made 17 felony arrests as a result of a months-long, multi-agency investigation of rival criminal syndicates operating throughout Northern California.

These warring gangs, known as the Minta and the AK-47 Group, are suspected of committing numerous violent clashes including five attempted murders, in Sutter, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Yolo, and Merced counties.

“No family should ever have to worry about drive-by shootings or other forms of gun violence in the neighborhoods where their children live and play. As a result of this joint law enforcement effort, we’re taking guns off the street and putting suspected gang members and their associates behind bars," said Bonta during the press conference in Yuba City.

“This started out as one group, and one faction broke off, and since then they have been rivals trying to outdo each other," Sutter County District Attorney General Jennifer Dupré.

"Mainly they show up places and try to shoot each other,” she said, comparing it to the US Civil War “where brothers were fighting against brothers.”

The violence started as fistfights and sword fights at a 2018 Sikh parade in Yuba City where one suspect’s attack with a sword was violent that the sword broke, Dupré said. That’s where the name of the police investigation, "Operation Broken Sword." originated.

Authorities believe the continuing violence between these groups resulted in a mass shooting at a Stockton Sikh temple during a wedding on August 27, 2022, followed by a shooting at a Sacramento Sikh temple on March 23, 2023.

The joint law enforcement effort reached a climax on April 15 in a large-scale operation with agents executing search warrants at 20 locations, also resulted in the seizure of 41 firearms.

Arrested were: Karandeep Singh, Pardeep Singh, Pavittar Singh, Husandeep Singh, Sahajpreet Singh, Harkirat Singh, Tirath Ram, Dharamvir Singh, Jobanjit Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Nitish Kaushal, Gurminder Singh Kang, Devender Singh, Karambir Gill, Rajeev Ranjan, Jobanpreet Singh and Singh Dhesi, according NBC News.

Five others, Amandeep Singh, Harmandeep Singh, Gursharn Singh, Grucharan Singh and Jaskaran Singh, remain at-large.

Dupré said the investigation was “ramped up” at last month’s parade in Vineyard, where investigators intercepted two vehicles near the parade route. The prosecutor said authorities arrested seven people found with four handguns and two assault weapons with high-capacity ammunition magazines in those vehicles near the parade route. The suspects’ intent was to take up position along the parade route and shoot at rivals.

SCREEN CAPTURE / NBC

Thousands of Sikhs are attended last month's parade where violence broke out.

Dupre said investigators were at last month’s Sacramento County parade with the goal of keeping the event “violence-free,” and she’s convinced law enforcement prevented what could’ve been a mass casualty incident. “If those weapons had gotten into the parade it could have been a blood bath,” Dupre said.

But despite the arrests, violence did breakout. The Vineyard shooting occurred about 2:30 p.m. after a fight broke out among a group of men, all in their 20s, who were not part of the parade, she said.

More than 20,000 Sikh reside in and around Yuba City and Sacramento, the largest Sikh community in the United States. 

The individuals arrested in connection with the violence do not in any way reflect or represent the vibrant Sikh community in the region, said Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho. Leaders of the Sikh community in Northern California have condemned this violence again and again, he emphasized.

The massive investigation and arrests involved 500 officers and multiple law enforcement agencies.

“Today, California is safer thanks to collaboration, determination, and swift action by DOJ agents and our law enforcement partners in Sutter County,” said Bonta. "Together, we’re putting public safety first. Thank you to our law enforcement partners across the state for working with us day-in and day-out to protect the people of California.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Over 40 AANHPI community groups staging an historic Unity March, June 25

The AANHPI communities have been staging ad hoc marches for the last two years. 

Some of the United State's best known nonprofit organizations serving the diverse Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities are putting aside cultural, linguistic and geographic differences in a demonstration of unity. 

The first-ever Unity March will take place on June 25, 2022, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the shadow of the Washington Monument and in view of the White House  

“The goal is to galvanize Asian Americans and allies across multiple issues, and educate folks about the issues that our communities face — not only as Asian Americans but as people of color, as LGBTQ folks, as folks with disabilities,” Tiffany Chang, a Unity March spokesperson. told NBC.

“Asian American communities have been disproportionately plagued by widespread violence, racism and xenophobia that runs rampant across American society,” she said.  “It’s time for our nation’s leaders to stop offering band-aid solutions to longstanding systemic issues by advancing adequate, sustainable policies that drive long-term positive impact for our communities.” 

R&B/Pop artist Thuy, award-winning producer and trans rights advocate Geena Rocero, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, and NYC-based hate crime survivor Esther Lee are among the speakers who will join more than 40 nonprofits—including Asian American Advancing Justice – AAJC, Gold House, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund—in urging AAPI communities and their allies to advance the Unity March Equity Platform. 

“It’s an honor for me to be able to be a part of this momentous event. Thank you to the organizers for bringing together our community. I’m so proud to be Vietnamese American and to come from immigrant parents who have taught me to be resilient and to use my voice to advocate for what’s right and what I’m passionate about,” said Thuy, R&B/Pop artist.

“I am a very proud transgender Filipina," added said Geena Rocero, award-winning producer, trans rights activist and model. "I find my power rooted in the resilience of my ancestors and my lived experience. It is a huge honor to be in community – to be with family – for this historic Unity March.” 

The Unity March is the first call to action to fight against systemic oppression and the systems that stand in the way of full participation by all, states a press release. 

"We march because we believe every single person in the country must have a voice in our local, state, and federal governments. And, that a fair society and economy values and protects workers, asserting all workers’ rights to dignity and security regardless of industry, citizenship, and/or employment status. We exist to tell our own diverse and authentic stories and disrupt harmful narratives," the statement continued.

The Equity Platform put forth by March organizers serves as a critical stepping stone to ensuring equitable representation and rights for all. 

Unity March, and multicultural partners representing the intersection of Asian American,  LGBTQ+, Muslim, disability communities, Black, Indigenous, Pacific Islander, Latinx, and Arab communities, will be uniting to demand progress toward achieving its Equity Platform, which calls for:

• Full Participation in Democracy, meaning a pathway to citizenship for undocumented members and long-term visa holders, access to voting and civic power for traditionally disenfranchised citizens, especially people of color and historically under-resourced communities.
• ‍Racial and Economic Justice, including holding the public and private sectors accountable for investing in workers’ rights and providing equal access to financial empowerment for small businesses, entrepreneurs of color, and women.
• ‍Cultural Equity and Media Representation, that promotes more diverse, authentic narratives and fights harmful stereotypes so we can create culturally dynamic, equitable and inclusive schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. 

The United March Host Committee Members are:

• Asian American Advancing Justice – AAJC (Advancing Justice – AAJC)
• Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote)
• Gold House
• Indian American Impact Project
• National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA)
• OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates
• Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)

For more information:

WHO: For a full list of Unity March Organization Partners, visit www.UnityMarch.com.

WHAT: The Unity March will be held on June 25, 2022, 

WHEN: The March will start at 12 p.m. ET 

WHERE: The National Mall in Washington, D.C. between 4th Street and 7th Street.

Acknowledging that the event iss being held in unprecedented times, Unity March organizations have implemented Covid-19 guidelines.

“The truth is, when we are not safe, we cannot advance towards the promise of a more perfect union, where racial and economic justice, cultural equity, and full participation in democracy is possible,” said Christine Chen, Executive Director at APIAVote, “The Unity March will push for change that allows all people equitable access to these opportunities to thrive.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: In keeping with Edge guidelines of calling people what they call themselves, in this article, we use the genderless "x" in place of the gender-specific "o" or "a" in naming some communities. For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

AAPI actors made strides on TV but future diversity is iffy

Mindy Kaling's "Never Have I Ever" stars a diverse cast.

With a snap of the fingers, relatively speaking, we have three shows on television with South Asian leads. If you count reruns of Priyanka Chopra's Quantico and Mindy Kaling's The Mindy Project, South Asians have gained unprecedented visibility on US TV.

The Asian Pacific American Media Coalition (APAMC) on March 24 heralded the premiere of two new television series on cable networks that feature South Asian Americans: the unscripted Family Karma on Bravo and the animated Mira: The Royal Detective on Disney Junior. The following month, Kaling's sitcom Never Have I Ever debuted introducing an Indian American perspective to the coming-of-age genre

For years, APAMC has advocated for greater diversity and inclusion of Asian Americans in Hollywood-produced programming.

“While South Asian Americans are glad to be represented, they also yearn for the chance to tell their own stories. That is why we applaud the entry of two new series that center Indian or Indian American life and culture.

Click here to read the full APAMC report.

“When APAMC met several years ago with NBCUniversal, we noted the absence of Asian Americans on the cable network Bravo, known for its pop culture personalities. We’re glad the network found a way to include us,” said APAMC Chair Daniel Mayeda.

The APAMC—the only organization to have graded the top four television networks since 2001—issued its annual Report Cards for the past 2018-19 season, assessing the four major TV networks on their progress toward diversity and inclusion of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) onscreen and behind the camera.

Although ABC and CBS maintained their same grades for Actors and NBC increased (from C to C+), the Coalition fears that the unprecedented success of Crazy Rich Asians in the Summer of 2018 failed to boost significantly the number of APA-led series on network TV. ABC had three pilots in contention that would have starred APAs (first name in the credits), including two that would have featured Asian American families. NBC had a pilot about an Asian American magician, and CBS was considering an Asian American family sitcom including Ken Jeong as a cast member. But none of them made the 2018-19 line-up.

“Since the APAMC began meeting with the networks in 1999,” noted Mayeda, “we have generally seen an improvement in the various categories (such as Actors, Unscripted, Writers/Producers, Directors). For example, in the 2002-03 season, onscreen representation of APAs was so bad, we gave two networks Fs in the Actors category. As part of the larger Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition (MEMC) —which also includes the NAACP, National Latino Media Council, and American Indians in Film/TV—we pushed the networks to sign Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), create diversity departments, actors showcases, writers and directors programs, and other pipeline programs.”

But progress has plateaued in many cases for the networks, with Fox recording its lowest grade in the Actors category (D+) in the past 18 years.
The biggest gains for APAs now seem to be happening in non-network media, including streaming services Netflix (Master of None, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before parts 1 and 2, Ugly Delicious, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, Always Be My Maybe, Tigertail, Never Have I Ever, The Half of It), Amazon Prime (Man in the High Castle, Warrior), and Hulu (PEN15); cable channels Comedy Central (Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, Ronny Chieng: International Student), AMC (Into the Badlands, Killing Eve, The Terror: Infamy), Bravo (Family Karma), and Disney Channel (Andi Mack, Mira, Royal Detective); and theatrically-released motion pictures (Searching, The Farewell, Plus One, Stuber).

“While we continue to advocate for the networks to feature more APAs in leading roles, the Coalition applauds the increased inclusion of APAs in other venues,” Mayeda said. “We recognize that many of these programs and films would not have been possible without the training and opportunities created by the networks’ diversity efforts. But the networks themselves need to redouble their efforts to avoid slipping behind their streaming and cable counterparts in representing APAs.”

ABC received the highest overall grade -- a "B" -- for the third year in a row and led with the highest grade in five of the seven categories: Actors (A-; third consecutive year), Commitment to Diversity (A; likewise), Development (B+), Directors (B+; tied with CBS), and Writers/Producers (B).

CBS came in second earning an overall grade of B-, Fox maintained its C gradevfollowed by NBC's C- (a huge improvement from the previous year's F grade). 

APAMC members include Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC, East West Players, Japanese American Citizens League, Media Action Network for Asian Americans, National Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans, National Federation of Filipino American Associations, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Visual Communications.

With the loss of Fresh Off the Boat and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC will be hard-pressed to maintain its grade next year.

In fact, with the 10th and final season of Hawaii Five-O, The Good Place, the single season of The Terror: Infamy largely set in a WWII Japanese American internment camp, the final installment of Man In the High Castle, the cancellation of the martial-arts dystopian Into the Badlands and the end Disney's Andi Mack, television will likely be lacking in an AAPI presence overall.

Long-running "Hawaii Five-O" with its diverse cast of secondary characters has said 'Aloha."

One area the networks can improve on is coverage of AAPI in the news.

“Given the backlash many Asian Americans have faced because of COVID-19, we urge the networks to also produce news stories on this rising concern as well as the remarkable contributions our communities have made to this country,” added Rita Pin Ahrens, Executive Director of OCA—Asian Pacific American Advocates, an APAMC member organization.

The AAPI audience is moving to other media for their news and entertainment. According to Nielsen, the Asian American community is the most plugged-in ethnic group and mostly depend on online sources for entertainment by AAPI artists, vlogs and communication via social media.

"After the mega success of Crazy Rich Asians,” says founding APAMC member Guy Aoki, “other Asian American projects have done well, including Always Be My Maybe, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and The Farewell. And the Korean drama Parasite became the first international film to win the Oscar for best picture. We don’t want to lose momentum and want to remind Hollywood that what we learned from those successes still holds true: people of all races are interested in stories about Asian people and are willing to pay money to see them."

Aoki adds: “We want the networks to re-commit to getting Asian American family shows back on the air, which people will gladly watch for free.”

Force-feeding of immigrant detainees halted; hunger strike spreads

The hunger strikers in the immigrant detention center are no longer being force-fed after a judge said ICE had to stop force-feeding them.
On Feb. 14, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stopped force-feeding the hunger strikers, most of them from the Punjab region of India, inside the El Paso detention center in Texas, reports the Associated Press.

“No hunger strikers housed in El Paso are currently being fed pursuant to court orders at this time. Medical staff at the facility continue to closely monitor the health and vital signs o f all the hunger strikers to insure they continue to receive proper medical care,” ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa said in a statement.

Twelve people at the detention center—nine from India and three from Cuba—remain on hunger strikes, said Zamarripa.

“This is a win for us,” said Louis Lopez, who is representing Malkeet Singh and Jasvir Singh in the case heard Feb. 13 in El Paso. Both men are Punjabi Sikhs in their early 20s. “They have a First Amendment right to protest.

Supporters of the Sikhs, some who have been in ICE custody more than a year while fighting deportation, were protesting the length and conditions of their detention.

Michelle Iglesias, an ICE physician overseeing the force-feeding in the El Paso facility, said she will seek a court order when she observes a drop in magnesium, phosphate and potassiam levels, among other health factors.

The hunger strikers, who are getting legal support from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights.

The El Paso hunger strike has inspired other immigrant detainees. Rhode Island-based community groups Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance and the Fighting Against Natural Gas Collective say they've been in contact with about 70 detainees at the Suffolk County House of Correction who are participating in a hunger strike that began Feb. 15.

The communications director for Sikh Americans Legal Defense and Education Fund Gujari Singh said, “It is imperative that the Department of Homeland Security immediately release the individuals engaged in these hunger strikes to ensure their well-being, safety, and protection of their due process rights.”
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