PEORIA, AZ, June 22, 2025 — At last week’s Peoria City Council meeting, Mayor Jason Beck called for respectful, lawful dialogue between citizens and government — citing recent violence against police officers and the need for civil discourse.
But moments later, Mayor Beck falsely claimed that peaceful protesters outside his business this past April had “bullhorns in my face” — and in doing so, deliberately associated the protest with violent attacks on police.
The protest in question took place on April 23 during Rep. Abe Hamadeh’s appearance at TYR Tactical. The group — which included mostly senior adults — had been protesting peacefully on a public sidewalk for nearly an hour without incident when Mayor Beck, with Peoria police acting under his direction, ordered them removed across four lanes of traffic to a so-called “free speech zone.”
Brent Peak, who was the protester that spoke with Mayor Beck that day, states:
“Mayor Beck and I introduced ourselves. We shook hands. We spoke calmly. The bullhorn was not used until after that conversation — to direct our group safely across the street. The entire protest was peaceful — as Peoria police later confirmed to the media — and I have full, unedited video of the entire event.”
[Beck and Peak’s exchange can be seen at https://youtu.be/J7VzhoZ4jpM]
The protest was part of ongoing demonstrations by constituents frustrated that Rep. Hamadeh refuses to hold public events to hear concerns about his enabling of authoritarian overreach.
Protests have continued in Peoria, including this past Saturday when thousands across CD-8 participated in the No Kings protest. Peoria police can confirm the peaceful nature of these events.
Peak adds:
“If an elected official is going to misuse their office to remove peaceful citizens from public property — the very least they can do is tell the truth about it. The mayor’s attempt to smear peaceful protesters while calling for respectful dialogue is dishonest — and the public deserves to know it.”