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Antioch sideshow ordinance approved
City leaders in Antioch made it illegal to watch or encourage 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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