Citizens Rally Outside Shasta County Board Chambers to Protest Election Materials Destruction
REDDING — A group of concerned Shasta County residents gathered Monday afternoon outside the Board of Supervisors chambers at 1450 Court Street to protest what they called the illegal destruction of election materials at the Registrar of Voters office on Saturday, October 3.
The 3 p.m. demonstration marked the second protest this week. Participants carried signs, flags, and an Appeal to Heaven banner. They said their goal was to remind supervisors and County Counsel Joseph Larmour that elected officials and county staff work for the citizens, not the other way around.
Longtime election integrity advocate Laura Hobbs pointed to the county organizational chart, noting that the electorate sits at the top and that the Board of Supervisors holds authority over County Counsel and the County Executive Officer.
“The Board of Supervisors themselves are responsible,” Hobbs said. She described the shredding of ballots and related election records as an “inside job,” claiming the county has operated “like a mafia, a crime family” that protects itself from scrutiny. Hobbs asserted that some materials were required to be retained far longer than 22 months and that directing the Registrar of Voters to destroy them amounted to ordering an election official to break the law.
That claim tracks letters sent in September and October by Alexander H. Haberbush of the Lex Rex Institute, counsel for Kari Chilson. Haberbush told Registrar Clint Curtis and County Counsel that Elections Code section 17301 requires destruction only of the sealed ballot packages listed in subdivision (b), not logs or other records stored with them. He wrote that rosters and voter lists must be kept for five years, that tally sheets may be destroyed after 22 months but need not be, and that December 3, 2024 administrative records were not yet two years old under Government Code section 26202. He also cited Chilson’s still-open public records request and litigation he said had already been filed, and noted that Curtis had written he had “no idea what is in the boxes” and that over half the ballot and envelope boxes had broken seals. Destruction was halted September 30 after staff found logs mixed in, then moved up to Saturday. Haberbush had demanded that only sealed section 17301 packages be shredded.
Arne List emphasized the timing of the destruction. “We watched it ourselves on Saturday when they broke the law,” he said, arguing that shredding potential evidence at the 22-month mark—while statutes of limitations on election-related crimes can run longer—raises serious red flags. He referenced possible RICO implications if a coordinated effort to conceal wrongdoing is proven and said accountability should include criminal charges for those responsible.
As the gathering wound down, participants turned to their faith. One protester referenced Pete Hegseth’s comments on the Appeal to Heaven, noting that “this is not going to go away because that’s how our country started. That’s the foundation we’re on.” The group emphasized the need to “keep God up front and center because that’s the bottom line,” describing Him as “our only source of hope” and affirming they must continue leaning on the Lord.
The group dispersed after the gathering, vowing to keep the pressure on local officials. No immediate response from the Board of Supervisors or County Counsel was available at the time of the protest.
