Oakland councilmember tweeted support for violence

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CITY NEWS

OAKLAND

—Oakland Councilmember Carroll Fife advocated for violence in a eyebrow-raising tweet on Thursday that may be unprecedented in recent Alameda County political history.

Carroll Fife @carroll_fife

Aggression and harassment masquerading as “free speech” is a justification for violence. Know the difference.

—The comment comes a week after Fife held a press conference to highlight a string of angry and violent voicemails that she has recently received.

—CONTEXT FOR TWEET—On Tuesday, Fife’s companion/bodyguard was alleged to have assaulted an Oakland housing advocate. Vincent Williams III, the founder of the Urban Compassion Project, a group that works with the unhoused in Oakland, posted a video that included the aftermath of a confrontation with TurAh-Ak.

—In the video, posted on Instagram, Williams alleged TurAh-Ak attacked him and slammed his head to the ground. In the same video, TurAh-Ak alleged that Williams had assaulted Fife.

—TurAh-Ak’s relationship with Fife is somewhat unclear. Some refer to him as Fife’s bodyguard. When Fife represented the city last June at a Golden State Warriors’ NBA Finals event in San Francisco, she brought TurAh-Ak and referred to him as her bodyguard.

—In the past, Fife has denied that TurAh-Ak is her significant other, although her definition of their relationship may be different than most.

—Oakland insiders registered alarm and a healthy dose hypocrisy toward Fife’s tweet, noting that Fife, before she was elected to the Oakland City Council, often lobbed inflammatory words at Oakland elected officials. In several instances, Fife led protesters to demonstrate in front of former Mayor Libby Schaaf’s home.