A contentious incident that transpired at Scribble Hill in Sand City last October is moving its way through the justice system: Max Steiner, who’s based near Chico and who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2022 as a Democrat, was charged Nov. 30 by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office with one count of misdemeanor assault and one count of misdemeanor vandalism.
The incident, which occurred Oct. 12, happened when Steiner, visiting from Chico, was cycling past Scribble Hill and confronted three female Monterey residents of Palestinian descent regarding a “Free Gaza” message they had constructed on the sand dune with plants. (Over the years, the dune has become a popular place to use plants to create temporary graffiti, of sorts.)
In that incident, Steiner allegedly grabbed and threw the cell phone of a 13-year-old girl who had helped write the message and he also allegedly destroyed the scribble on the hill.
Steiner was arraigned in Monterey County Superior Court Jan. 16, and his attorney, Scott Erdbacher, entered not guilty pleas to both counts. (Steiner was not present; defendants are not required to appear during arraignments for misdemeanor charges.)
When reached for comment via email, Steiner responded to say that the Weekly’s initial story about the incident omitted facts, and suggested the Weekly’s editorial department has an anti-Israel bias.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 1 in the Salinas courthouse. Given the trends of the justice system, it seems unlikely it will ever go to trial – Administrative Assistant Nichole Reed says the DA brings about 12,000 cases a year, but only about 100 go to trial.