Why Local Officials Are Facing Growing Harassment and Threats

Daniela Fernandez, a social services worker in Nevada City, California, successfully ran for city council in 2020, thinking she’d focus on fire preparedness and water security. After the murder of George Floyd that May, when Fernandez came out publicly to support Black Lives Matter protesters, she became a target of in-person and online harassment.  

Since then, she says, her citizenship has been publicly challenged and she’s faced protests organized via Facebook groups. She’s been harassed in public so often, including from people driving by her house or parking in front of her home, that she now owns a firearm and has installed a security camera. “In a town of 3,000, when people know where you live, that’s pretty terrifying,” says Fernandez, who said she’s not backing down.