NEWPORT BEACH— A Newport Beach man has been charged with two misdemeanors after accusations that he pulled a loaded gun on Black Lives Matter protesters on June 3.
Travis Patrick White, 48, is charged with one count of brandishing a firearm in public and one count of possession of a loaded firearm in a public place by the Orange County district attorney’s office.
The protest was held in the wake of the death of George Floyd. According to the DA’s office, White and protesters exchanged words at 30th Street and Newport Boulevard. Protester Sheau Musiime claims that White repeated: “Black lives don’t matter.” Musiime then got aggressive with White.
The altercation escalated when White allegedly pulled out a loaded semiautomatic handgun, cocked it and pointed it up. Video footage from passerby show White holding a gun as he walks backwards. No one was injured during this incident.
White turned himself in when made aware that police were looking for him. White was also terminated from his place of employment, Arbor Real Estate.
“It is scary that someone who disagrees with your right to express yourself freely during a peaceful protest would elevate that to the level of lethal force. That should cause all of us alarm. This individual brought a gun to a peaceful protest. He was looking for a confrontation and when confronted with opinions that he disagrees with he pulled out his gun. That is not the America we want and those actions will not be tolerated,” said District Attorney Todd Spitzer in a statement.
White faces up to two years in county jail if convicted on both charges. He is scheduled to be arraigned at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach on October 20.
