Thread by @HereSayMedia

WATCH: A signature-gathering effort at a local farmer’s market grew contentious on Sunday after a bystander attempted to steal Board of Education recall petitions from a volunteer, according to eyewitness accounts.

The alleged thief at 01:22: “You caught me.”

Thread 🧵 (1/8)

Exclusive video shows the suspect arguing with the volunteer and denying wrongdoing. But moments later they produce what looks to be a batch of petitions from their pocket.

“If you’re preventing me from leaving...I’m going to sue you," the suspect then tells the parent. (2/8)

We chose to blur the alleged thief’s face because an SFPD investigation is ongoing and because the individual hasn’t been formally charged with a crime.

We attempted to uncover the suspect’s identity to ask for comment but were unable to do so. (3/8)

The volunteer, Man Kit Lam, filed a police report and says he plans to press charges if the suspect is apprehended.

On Wednesday, SFPD said the investigation is “active and ongoing” and asked anyone with information to call 415-575-4444. (4/8)
heresaymedia.org/sfpd-investiga…

Lam told Here/Say he began volunteering with the Board of Education recall to speak up for his son, a SFUSD student who has struggled during distance learning.

You can watch the full video of the incident here. (5/8)

Lam added that he’s been harassed multiple times while working the recall table, with strangers shouting insults and, on at least one occasion, accusing him of being a “right-winger."

“My wife said, ‘I'm a Democrat. I've been a Democrat since before you were born.'" (6/8)

Lam sees the recall effort as a fundamental democratic right.

“In San Francisco, we praise this city as so liberal and so democratic. But we have people—they are nuts. We have the right to petition the government. I’m not doing something illegal, but he is.” (7/8)

After the alleged theft, a shaken Lam struggled to comprehend why someone would do such a thing.

“What he did was really wrong. How could he do that?” Lam asked. (8/8)