Despite that, records show, the police were called on protesters at least seven times during that span. Surprise police, which sometimes responded with multiple vehicles and officers, never found any evidence of wrongdoing. In one instance, a protester’s car was towed — at the behest of a member of Hamadeh’s staff.
At the same time, pro-Hamadeh demonstrators were given preferential access and were never treated as a threat to public safety. Speaking to those supporters, Hamadeh painted the mostly senior citizen-led group of anti-Trump protesters — with whom he refused to meet — as “brainwashed” and falsely claimed they were professional agitators paid by liberal billionaire George Soros.
The anti-Trump protests were organized by Northwest Valley Indivisible, a local chapter of the larger anti-Trump grassroots Indivisible movement. For about two months starting in mid-February, they demonstrated outside Hamadeh’s office to demand that he hold a public town hall. The protests attracted between 30 and 100 people — mostly elderly, with 52-year-old organizer Brent Peak one of the youngest participants — and would last roughly an hour.
But as soon as their protests began, so did regular calls to Surprise police about them.
Hamadeh’s office, which is located at 12515 W. Bell Road in Surprise, shares a building with the home care services company Total Care Connections. Total Care’s founder, Daniel Stringer, rents the space — which, at least earlier this year, still bore the name of former Rep. Debbie Lesko above the entrance — to Hamadeh’s office. According to police records, Stringer called police about the protesters of Feb. 19, despite there being no evidence of any lawbreaking. Police arrived to speak with Peak and police drone was also mobilized to oversee the small gathering, but nothing violent was reported.
Stringer declined to comment when reached by Phoenix New Times.
There were no calls to police the next two times protesters demonstrated. After that, though, police were called like clockwork. Exactly who called is not clear; names were redacted from police records about subsequent protests that were released to New Times.
On March 24, two calls were made to Surprise police by someone reporting that “their view was blocked by signs being held in the area.” Six officers responded to the crowd of approximately 70 people, but “nothing criminal was observed,” according to the police report. The next week, police received a call that signs were “blocking the view of a vehicle.” This time, a dozen police officers responded to the crowd of approximately 100 people. Again, “nothing criminal was observed or reported,” per a police report.
On April 14, pro-Hamadeh protesters began to counterprotest at Hamadeh’s office. Lisa Everett, the chair of the Legislative District 29 Republicans, told New Times that she “heard about the protest, and I was just like, ‘No, we can’t let that stand.’” Police also responded to that protest and two subsequent demonstrations between pro- and anti-Hamadeh protesters, but served more as crowd control.
Police reports again state that “nothing criminal was observed or reported.”
A group of mostly senior citizens has regularly protested Rep. Abe Hamadeh for months.
Morgan Fischer
Lot for me, not for thee
However, pro-Hamadeh protesters were treated much differently than anti-Hamadeh demonstrators — especially when it came to who could use the property’s parking lot.No police were called during a March 17 protest, but a tow truck was. Demonstrators were told they could not park in the building’s parking lot, as it was private property. As if to emphasize that point, a Western Towing truck began to show up while protesters were there, waiting for someone to slip up.
The next week, 76-year-old Sun City resident Pat Tonnema slipped up. She parked her Ford Escape in the building’s lot and walked over to join the protest with a few of her friends. But Tonnema said that “it wasn’t more than five minutes” before Peak announced over a bullhorn that someone’s car was being towed.
“I didn’t even go 20 feet,” Tonnema told New Times. “And I saw my car being towed away. A tow truck was there lurking in the parking lot and saw us get out of the car and walk over to the protest and snatched it up.”
After her car was towed, Tonnema said, she spoke to Hamadeh’s district director, Joshua Lyons. Lyons told her that “he had no idea who towed from their parking lot, but he would find out for me,” Tonnema recalled. He added that he’d find a “wealthy donor of Abe Hamadeh” to “reimburse” her for the $160 towing fee.
However, according to Surprise police records, Lyons knew exactly who had authorized the tow for “unauthorized parking.” It was him. Tonnema said she was never reimbursed. Neither Lyons nor anyone else from Hamdeh’s office responded to questions from New Times.
“I just never assumed that a congressman would tow cars from his office parking lot,” Tonnema said. “It didn’t even occur to me.”
Nothing legally prevented Tonnema’s car from being towed — she was parked on private property. However, pro-Hamadeh constituents were not restricted from using the parking lot in the same way.
On the same day Tonnema’s car was towed, a pro-Hamadeh resident walked through the crowd of protestors calling them “dirtbags liberals” and “fucking idiots,” according to video shared with New Times. Peak said the man parked his car in Hamadeh’s lot but was not towed.
Once pro-Hamadeh protesters began regularly showing up at the demonstrations, the lurking tow trucks disappeared. Pro-Hamadeh protesters parked in the lot with no issue, Peak said. Photos shared with the New Times even show a pop-up tent selling MAGA merchandise set up in the lot.
Pat Tonnema's car was towed from the offices of Rep. Abe Hamadeh at the behest of one of Hamadeh's staffers.
Morgan Fischer
New tactics
At one April protest, Hamadeh came out and spoke with supporters after Indivisible protesters had left. In a video interview with maaprealtalksshowmedia, Hamadeh described the Indivisible protesters as “brainwashed” and said he’s “not gonna negotiate with paid protestors whose sole purpose is to create a narrative that isn’t there.”“They don’t know what they’re protesting,” Hamadeh continues. “It’s Soros-aligned. This is how the left operates. We know their game.”
Peak, Tonnema and others scoffed at that claim, calling it “ridiculous.”
“Throughout history, there are constant claims of being paid protesters … as though people don’t have enough brains and heart to figure out that wrong is being done,” Tonnema said. “I’m surprised people even say it anymore. It’s embarrassing.”
What the protesters want, they say, is for Hamadeh to engage with all of his constituents, not just the ones who agree with him. However, after a protest on April 28, the group gave up on confronting Hamadeh at his office. “I’m kind of done asking for a town hall,” Peak said. “I don’t think he’s ever going to do it.”
Instead, the Indivisible protesters launched a “Step Up CD8” initiative on May 10, holding simultaneous protests at five locations across Hamadeh’s district. More than 5,700 people showed up for the group’s seven “No Kings Day” protests across the district on June 14. Indivisible continues to hold protests and letter-drop events throughout the area.
Now that they’re no longer protesting in front of Hamadeh’s office, protesters say they don’t face the same level of hostility. Counterprotesters haven’t shown up and attendees feel comfortable taking their eyes off their cars. But the petty annoyances of trying to get Hamadeh’s attention haven’t been completely forgotten. When Tonnema protests, she holds up a sign to passing cars on Lake Pleasant Parkway.
It reads: “Hamadeh had my car towed!!”
