As Ron DeSantis leaves fundraising brunch in Corral de Tierra, protesters cheer his departure.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' trip through California included the second Republican debate on Wednesday, Sept. 27 in Simi Valley. A fundraising stop followed the next morning, Thursday, Sept. 28 in Monterey County, hosted largely by agribusiness leaders from the Salinas Valley. 

DeSantis spoke with a group at Corral de Tierra Country Club. A sheriff’s vehicle was parked at the club’s gate mid-morning, and sheriff's officers and security guards were located at the entrance. 

Outside, about 20 protesters held anti-DeSantis signs and blew whistles, and told DeSantis he wasn’t welcome in Monterey County. The group was also playing music including “De América, Yo Soy” by Los Tigres Del Norte, a popular Norteño band, “No nos moverán” by Joan Baez and Bob Marley’s reggae tune “Get Up Stand Up.”

Several organizations participated in the protest including Building Healthy Communities, Reinvest831, the Salinas Coalition, MIPLA, Padres Unidos and United Farm Workers. Corina De La Torre, one of the organizers, says they started organizing as soon as they learned about the brunch. They held meetings and sign-making gatherings at United Farm Workers and MILPA offices in Salinas, and via Zoom. 

The brunch was hosted by several ag leaders, primarily Bruce Taylor of Taylor Farms. After a public outcry began, Taylor Farms held a town hall meeting for employees to talk about the event. Two previous protests included stops in front of Taylor Farms' headquarters on Main Street in downtown Salinas. (Taylor has not responded to the Weekly's requests for an interview about the event.)

“For ag leaders to support it, or try to claim some type of neutral stance, that's bullshit,” De La Torre says. “They know exactly what they're doing. They're trying to cover themselves as being neutral by inviting him over here and listening to his policies, but there's nothing to listen to. All it is hate and bigotry."

The cost to attend was $3,300 per person or $5,000 per couple, as a donation to the campaign. The address was only provided upon RSVP; attendees were notified the event was to be held at Corral De Tierra Country Club, then received an email the night before indicating they should call for a new location. “We’ve had a security breach and need to move the location of tomorrow’s event,” the email read. 

However, it turned out that the event had not actually been relocated and was held as scheduled at Corral De Tierra Country Club, located off Highway 68 in unincorporated Monterey County. 

That did not keep Salinas City Council from voting on Tuesday night, Sept. 26, to pass a resolution denouncing DeSantis' visit. 

Jeff Gorman, chair of the Monterey County Republican Party, spoke at the council meeting and said DeSantis was being misrepresented, adding the resolution was a form of bullying. “You don’t speak for the entirety of Salinas or the entirely of Monterey County and there are many Republicans here and we are an important monitoring community,” Gorman said. 

Protesters gathered outside of Star Market on South Main Street in Salinas on Thursday morning before relocating to Corral De Tierra Country Club. 

Liz Passanisi, a member there, arrived to the club a little after 10 to play pickleball. “We were playing pickleball when we heard all the commotion and we saw the police. I wasn't sure what was happening,” Passanisi says. She didn’t attend the brunch, however she saw DeSatis inside the club, "with his entourage and members of his party having lunch.” 

Before noon, a caravan with several dark SUVs led by a sheriff's patrol car left the premises, with DeSantis traveling in one of them.  

“He came and picked up a check and he left. That's all he wanted to do,” De La Torre says. Protesters cheered and celebrated as the group drove off. 

Sara Rubin contributed to this report.