The Antioch City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed an ordinance that prohibits organizing and advertising sideshows, as well as punishing those who are spectators.
The ordinance has been in the works for years and it highlights a problem many cities are facing when it comes to slowing down illegal sideshow activity. During the meeting, Antioch residents also weighed it on a city ordinance.
Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe said that even sharing a social media post about a sideshow could get someone in trouble.
“You can be arrested, you can be fined up to $1,000 and you can spend time in jail. You will be prosecuted,” he said.
The Antioch sideshow ordinance represents the urgency of cities across the Bay Area as cities are looking for ways to crack down on illegal sideshow activity.
Over the weekend, a sideshow shut down a portion of the Bay Bridge. About two weeks ago, a daytime sideshow taking place near Santana Row in San Jose, with spectators jumping on a police patrol car.
But legal analyst Steven Clark told NBC Bay Area on Tuesday that cities could face a number of legal challenges with these types of ordinances, specifically when it comes to punishing spectators.
“The big question will be can the city of Antioch give someone a citation that could subject them to six months of jail, for merely watching a sideshow,” he said.
A second reading for the ordinance will take place in July with the ordinance expected to go into effect this fall.
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