Long Beach officials this week denied allegations that the city was “targeting” an anti-ICE, pro-Palestinan event that was scheduled for this past weekend, saying instead that the issue with the event was that it did not have the proper permits.
Organizers of the music event and fundraiser said that they feel otherwise, accusing the city of sending two separate notices to cease and desist because of the event’s message.
The event was meant to raise money for immigrant families impacted by federal enforcement actions and to send aid to Gaza. There were going to be several musical performances and speakers, according to the event flyer.
It was set to take place at Toxic Toast Records, a record shop at Eighth Street and Pine Avenue, on Saturday, Oct. 11. This location was selected after the city sent a cease and desist notice to organizers, who originally were going to host the event at Junipero Beach.
“A cease and desist letter was initially issued because the organization failed to obtain the required event and charitable solicitation permits for a planned music event and fundraiser at the beach,” the city said in a Monday, Oct. 13, statement. “When the organizers moved the event to a retail business location that also lacked the necessary entertainment permit, a second cease and desist letter was sent.”
After several discussions with the city, organizers said, they moved the event to Toxic Toast Records, which Long Beach said was a permitted venue, as it has hosted similar events in the past. But then the city sent a second cease-and-desist letter.
“This venue has never been contacted in this manner at all by the city or issued a cease and desist notice for any show ever, up until this event,” said Sherman Austin, a Long Beach resident, founder of StopICE.net and one of the event organizers. “At this point, I was convinced that either someone in the city or someone pressuring the city was working overtime to stop our event, because that’s exactly how it looked.”
City officials, however, said they have a responsibility to ensure that all public events and entertainment activities are properly permitted. The permit process is necessary for the “safety and well-being” of everyone involved, the city said, as well as to ensure appropriate measures are in place for those who want to enjoy adjacent spaces and residences.
“The permitting process can take several days to finalize and issue,” the city statement said, “depending on the scope and complexity of the event.”
The city does not target unpermitted events, officials said. Notices and other communications are issued when the city becomes aware of illegal events or entertainment activity through public complaints, word-of-mouth or advertising.
“In this case, advance planning is appropriate for an event that promoted a musical lineup with fundraising on public property that already had heavy public use and nearby homes,” the city’s statement said. “Advanced planning for this event would include conditions to strike a balance between all users of the space, and address parking and safety concerns created from potential power-related equipment utilized to amplify the music and other issues that are regularly considered by experienced city staff.”
Long Beach, through its Business Services Division and Special Events and Filming Office, regularly engages event organizers either through the permitting process or because of issues with unpermitted events, officials said.
City officials said that they were engaged with the organizers of this event and provided options to hold it by obtaining either a special event permit or an occasional event permit.
While organizers tried to compromise after the first cease-and-desist the city sent, Austin said in an interview, it felt like even if they had moved the event a third time, the same situation would have happened. Over the weekend, organizers shared on social media what was happening between the city and the event.
“The fact that our event was closely followed, tracked and targeted in such a manner,” organizers said, “appears to be discriminatory and raises serious First Amendment issues.”
Organizers accused the city of saying the event was not allowed to “solicit funds.” But organizers said they emphasized that their flyers and messages mentioned that the event was free and only mentioned fundraising for different causes before the event. On Saturday, the city contacted the venue for a required inspection, which created confusion among the organizers, because city doesn’t typically have inspectors available on the weekends.
“It is highly unusual that the City of Long Beach would go far out of its way to selectively target a live music event, which is a typical occurrence on any day here in Long Beach,” organizers said, “and target a known venue while there was absolutely no threat or risk to public safety, nor were there any complaints indicating such would occur.”
While this event was canceled, organizers said they plan on hosting another in Long Beach soon.
Austin, along with other organizers and artists meant to perform during the event, brought the issue to the Long Beach City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Speakers asked Mayor Rex Richardson and the council why their event felt targeted and questioned if the elected officials really stood for the city’s Values Act, as the event was supporting causes the city has previously said they stood for. The Long Beach Values Act was established to help protect the city’s immigrant communities by setting clear guidelines for handling sensitive personal information and preventing local cooperation with federal immigrant enforcement.
The mayor and City Manager Tom Modica responded to the situation and said the city would work on ensuring the next event happened with the proper permitting. The council quickly adjourned the meeting after organizers in the crowd continued to question the city’s actions.
“You quash peaceful protests, people wanting to celebrate with music and art,” an organizer in the Civic Chambers yelled. “You pretend to care about people of color, you pretend to care about immigrants, but you do nothing.”
Richardson and councilmembers have previously said that they are continuing to protect Long Beach’s immigrant community by reenforcing its Values Act and approving the Defend Our Long Beach Values plan in the fiscal year 2026 budget.
But organizers say it’s not enough.
“It seems like they’re just trying to dampen the fire,” Austin said in an interview after the council meeting. “They know that people are pissed off. They see all the attention that it’s getting on social media. It puts them in a bad light, like I said it would.
“I’m not here to try to reach out to them for support,” he added. “I’m just letting them know, putting them on notice, you pissed a lot of people off. And we’re going to do another event, and if you act out the same manner next time, you’re going to piss even more people off. We’re not going to stop; the work continues.”