Antioch bans watching or encouraging sideshows

ANTIOCH, Calif. - City leaders in Antioch on Tuesday made it illegal to watch or encourage sideshow.

Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe-Hernandez said sideshows are tough to combat and it's been an ongoing problem for more than a year.

That's why the council was convinced to pass an ordinance that bans organizing, advertising and being a spectator at a sideshow.

Violators can face up to a $1,000 fine or six months in jail. 

Several residents approved of the crackdown, but at least one woman was skeptical as to what it means to be a spectator. 

"If you're stuck," she said. "And someone's decided they're going to cut off lanes and do donuts., that doesn't make you a spectator. You're trapped, you're stuck."

Councilmembers said that people caught in traffic would not be punished.

Alameda and Sonoma counties, as well as San Jose, have each passed similar sideshow ordinances. 

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