The district attorney in charge of a California city terrorized by a horde of masked burglars last week received more than $1 million from a group backed by liberal billionaire George Soros.
Diana Becton, Contra Costa County prosecutor, has observed a 10 percent increase in crime in the city of Antioch, where burglaries rose by a third, car thefts by a fifth and rapes by 7.5 percent in 2022.
The 71-year-old’s re-election campaign received funds from the California Justice & Public Safety Political Action Committee (PAC) last year when she ran against prosecutor Mary Knox.
At the time, Knox targeted Becton over the funds, claiming, “An out-of-state billionaire, along with advocacy groups, has now spent an unprecedented $1 million to defeat my campaign and sway voters for district attorney in this local election.”
Public records show that their campaign benefited a total of $1,002,000 from the group – with Soros contributing $652,000.
Contra Costa Prosecutor Diana Becton, whose campaign received money from billionaire liberal George Soros, has seen crime rise by 10 percent in the city of Antioch
Public records show that their campaign benefited a total of $1,002,000 from the group – with Soros contributing $652,000
Becton was first elected district attorney in 2018 after working as an attorney and judge in the state.
She ran for a platform focused on criminal justice reform and restoring public confidence in law enforcement.
Antioch made headlines this week after surveillance footage caught a gang of at least eight masked people ransacking parked cars and looting anything they could find in the dead of night.
Local residents said they were awakened by the commotion at 2 a.m. on July 6 but were too frightened to confront the gang.
The area is generally quiet and is spared the serious crime seen elsewhere in the troubled Bay Area. But the sheer size of this criminal gang stunned the local police officers.
“When I saw her, I didn’t know what was going on. I thought, “I hope they don’t try to go through the garage,” said Mike Allen, whose car was among those broken into.
The police were called and arrived within five minutes.
But the gang had already fled.
In this Ring Doorbell camera image, at least seven thieves can be seen looting vehicles in Antioch at 2 a.m. on July 6
Sergeant. Price Kendall said the scale of the looting was unusual because the thieves typically worked in smaller groups.
“It’s unusual to have a lot of people, a large group, walking around, looking in cars and walking around the neighborhood,” Kendall said.
He did not say whether arrests had been made, but noted that many of the cars appeared to be unlocked and the thieves appeared to be targeting cars that they could rob with minimal noise and maximum speed.
“There were definitely crimes of opportunity,” Kendall said.
“On one of the videos you can see they were able to go to the car.” “The car was most likely unlocked.”
Resident Allen said he saw members of the gang ransacking his family’s vehicles but felt unable to stop them.
“They broke into my girlfriend’s car,” he said. “She had her baby bag in the car. They went in there and ransacked everything.’
He said his neighbors had similar stories.
Antioch is 45 miles inland from San Francisco — a city that has also seen a rise in theft.
Contra Costa County was among the counties hit hardest by Covid-19, and Becton was convicted in 2021 of holding a backyard wedding during the state’s lockdown.
She admitted the party had taken place but denied she had broken Covid rules, which at the time allowed outdoor religious ceremonies but banned wedding receptions.