Group claiming to be Anonymous posts new video on Sacramento homeless policy

A group purporting to be part of the hacker network Anonymous has released a third video opposing Sacramento’s ban on urban camping.

In the latest video, the ghostly masked reader speaking in a computer-generated voice chides the media for “minimizing the abuses upon the homeless.”

However, most of the YouTube video is a replay of two previous Anonymous postings in which the masked figure supports protesters outside City Hall who are fighting the camping ordinance.

“We are seeking to invoke our human rights,” the reader said. “Further attempts to turn our rights to protest into a criminal act will only add fuel to the proverbial fire.”

Sacramento police arrested two activists Saturday morning and issued citations to four others protesting the city’s ban on urban camping.

James Clark, 35, a spokesman for the group that has been camping on the City Hall grounds since Dec. 8, was arrested on suspicion of illegal camping. Another man, 52-year-old David Andre, was arrested on suspicion of illegal camping and resisting arrest, according to Sacramento police. Three other campers received “warning citations” and a fourth was given a citation for illegal camping but was not arrested.

The group is protesting a city ordinance banning outdoor camping, arguing that it violates the human rights of the homeless. But the city has said it has no intention of repealing the ban, arguing it’s a matter of public health. City officials also have said they are focusing on increasing the stock of permanent housing for the homeless.

Officers have made more than 10 arrests at City Hall since first sweeping the area Jan. 2.

This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 8:30 AM.