Greetings,
The Town would like to share the following information regarding an incident that took place this week involving several voicemail messages that were received at Town Hall. Three messages were left on the Town’s main phone line that contained threats that were racially-charged in nature and that targeted our current mayor, Brian Colbert. Central Marin Police acted quickly to identify and arrest the suspect.
It goes without saying that the Town of San Anselmo has zero tolerance for racism and all racist acts. The Town will utilize all available tools to address and take action on any and all incidents of this kind in our community.
Below is the news release sent out by the Central Marin Police Authority regarding the incident followed by a statement from Mayor Colbert:
NEWS RELEASE – Central Marin Police Authority (sent out on Tuesday, May 11th on Nixle and NextDoor.com)
Community: Suspect in custody for criminal threats
A San Anselmo man was arrested yesterday after making criminal threats to another San Anselmo resident.
On Monday morning, May 10th, Central Marin Police received a report of telephonic criminal threats being made to a victim in San Anselmo. The victim was contacted and officers established that a crime had occurred. Voice mail messages were left that threatened physical violence and were racial in nature. The suspect was quickly identified and he was taken into custody within a few hours after the initial report.
The 63-year-old suspect was arrested at his San Anselmo home and booked at Marin County Jail for a felony charge of 422 PC, threaten crime with intent to terrorize. A hate crime enhancement charge was also requested. Due to the serious nature of this crime a bail enhancement was granted and bail was set at $150,000. Investigators obtained a Gun Violence Restraining Order and served a search warrant at the suspect’s home, confiscating several firearms.
The Central Marin Police Authority takes all reports of threats and hate crimes seriously, and fully dedicated our resources to swiftly investigating and making an arrest in this incident.
Statement from Brian Colbert, Mayor of San Anselmo
The people of Marin County share basic core values of tolerance, understanding, and racial harmony. It is appealing to think of racism as an evil that exists only in other parts of the country. But racism exists here, too.
On Friday, a San Anselmo resident made violent, racist threats against me. He used words that we associate with the Jim Crow South, not Northern California in the 21st Century.
The Central Marin Police Authority deserves praise for dealing with this unfortunate situation in a swift, competent and appropriate manner.
I am grateful to my friends and neighbors who have reached out to me with messages of support.
As mayor, I believe I am speaking for all of us when I say that racism is not welcome in San Anselmo. We are better than this. I am confident that our entire community will unite to condemn these racist threats.
Sincerely,
Brian Colbert, Mayor
Town of San Anselmo
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