Santa Barbara County Preschool Teacher on Paid Leave After Scuffle with ICE Protesters
Video Shows Rebecca Arreola Mocking and Confronting Group Before Appearing to Shove One of Its Members

A longtime preschool teacher with the Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO) has been placed on paid administrative leave after a video was made public of her engaging in a physical confrontation with a group of peaceful protesters.
The incident took place Saturday on the corner of H Street and Ocean Avenue in Lompoc as demonstrators gathered to protest ICE operations in the area.
The 57-second video shows Rebecca Arreola ― a teacher and coach in SBCEO’s Early Care and Education programs ― first mocking the group by shouting, “Deportation!” before starting to spell out the word as a cheer. “Gimme a D!” she says.
Arreola then walks close to the demonstrators, who tell her to back off and say they’re exercising their First Amendment right to protest. Arreola continues cheering and tells one of them, “This is America, motherfucker.”
A woman with Arreola, who was initially filming the encounter and egging her on, then attempts to defuse the situation by telling the group Arreola had been drinking.
At this point, it appears Arreola shoves and grabs one of the protesters, after which a brief scuffle ensues. “Get off of me!” the protester yells. “Tell her to let go.” Arreola and her female companion then untangle themselves from the group and walk away.
After the video circulated on social media, SBCEO received a number of messages calling for Arreola’s firing. The altercation was also reported to Lompoc police.
“SBCEO is aware of an incident involving one of our employees during a protest in Lompoc over the weekend,” the education agency said in a prepared statement. “The incident is being investigated and will be handled with care.”
“The employee involved has been placed on administrative leave effective today,” the statement continued. Arreola has worked for SBCEO since June 2000. “As a public agency, state, and federal laws require us to keep personnel matters confidential; therefore, the investigation and any related outcomes will remain confidential.”
An estimated 44,000 undocumented individuals live in Santa Barbara County, including an unknown number of children.