{"id":271326,"date":"2026-04-16T20:24:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T20:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/271326\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T20:24:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T20:24:26","slug":"woke-oakland-lawmaker-says-it-is-racist-for-city-to-fine-nigerian-man-1m-after-he-sparked-outrage-by-cutting-down-38-protected-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/271326\/","title":{"rendered":"Woke Oakland lawmaker says it is RACIST for city to fine Nigerian man $1m after he sparked outrage by cutting down 38 protected trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

By NATASHA ANDERSON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER<\/a> <\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 10:49 EDT, 15 April 2026 | Updated: 12:05 EDT, 15 April 2026 <\/p>\n

An Oakland lawmaker claims it would be racist for the city to issue a $1 million fine to a Nigerian immigrant who chopped down 38 protected trees without a permit.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Carroll Fife rushed to the defense of Doctor Matthew Bernard and his domestic partner\u00a0Lynn Warner during a debate over their illegal tree removal.<\/p>\n

The couple’s undeveloped Oakland Hills lot was completely covered by trees in 2020, but now none remain on the property,\u00a0the San Francisco Chronicle<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

Bernard had 38\u00a0mature trees removed from his lot, an adjacent city property and from neighbors’ land in 2021 and 2022, city arborists said.<\/p>\n

Environmental advocates have urged the council to levy the full $1 million fine to set a precedent for ‘people who continue to treat our land like trash.’<\/p>\n

But Fife, during a hearing Tuesday night, cited concerns about alleged systemic racism in the Oakland hills community.<\/p>\n

‘I have to express my confusion about how a black man should be the first to receive consequences for things that white people have been doing for centuries,’ she told the city council hearing.<\/p>\n

‘The hills were built up for white Oaklanders, that nobody else had access to – not Asians, not Mexicans, not black people.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Oakland\u00a0Council <\/p>\n

Oakland\u00a0Council Member Carroll Fife\u00a0has alleged it would be racist for the city to issue a $1 million fine to a Nigerian immigrant who chopped down 38 protected trees without a permit<\/p>\n

\"Matthew\u00a0Bernard <\/p>\n

Matthew\u00a0Bernard had 38 mature trees removed from his Claremont Avenue property in Oakland Hills. The upscale community is home to the gorgeous\u00a0Claremont Club hotel (pictured)<\/p>\n

Bernard, a physician who immigrated to the US in 2001, told the council that he and Warner had wanted to build a family home on their Claremont Avenue property.<\/p>\n

He said they chopped down the trees after an arborist advised they remove\u00a0trees that were at a risk of falling or igniting during a wildfire.<\/p>\n

He claimed the couple did ‘everything in their willpower’ to respect the city’s laws – an allegation disputed by city arborists.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, who has met with the couple, their neighbors and city arborists, is pushing the city to issue the full $1 million fine.<\/p>\n

He told Tuesday’s hearing it was ‘offensive\u00a0that wildfire prevention is being used as an excuse to cut down trees’ and argued that healthy oaks are ‘fire resistant.’<\/p>\n

Ramachandran acknowledged it is ‘challenging’ being a newcomer in Oakland, and the US as a whole, and can be hard to develop property.<\/p>\n

But he argued those challenges are ‘no excuse for cutting down 38 trees in a blatant violation and disrespect for our laws.’<\/p>\n

Fife and fellow council member\u00a0Ken Houston, however, argued that the city should take a cautious approach with its fine to ensure construction is completed.<\/p>\n

‘He shouldn’t have cut those trees down, and he knew better too,’ Houston said. ‘But then we got a vacant property that he has to develop… so I don’t want to bury him and drown him.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fife echoed Houston, alleging the property now needs to be developed more than ever since ‘there’s no oak trees to prevent against fire hazards.’<\/p>\n

\"Bernard <\/p>\n

Bernard opposed the council’s proposal to issue a $1 million fine to the landowner and suggested the city take\u00a0a cautious approach to ensure construction is completed<\/p>\n

The initial vote over whether to levy a fine against the couple ended in a tie, with\u00a0Fife, Houston and Council Member Rowena Brown opposing the motion.<\/p>\n

Councilmembers Ramachandran, Kevin Jenkins, Charlene Wang and Zac Unger voted in favor.\u00a0Noel Gallo was absent from the hearing, so he was counted as a no.<\/p>\n

The council also voted on whether to impose a lesser fine of $411,000, but that too ended in a tie.<\/p>\n

Mayor\u00a0Barbara Lee has declined to break the tie vote, her spokesperson told the newspaper. The decision has now been deferred to the May 5 council meeting.<\/p>\n

Share or comment on this article:
\n Woke Oakland lawmaker says it is RACIST for city to fine Nigerian man $1m after he sparked outrage by cutting down 38 protected trees<\/p>\n