If you missed the ironic news flash, controversial Dallas activist Carlos Quintanilla went from preparing to lead a protest against Irving’s treatment of illegal immigrants to sitting in the Irving jail yesterday. The news isn't very stunning: A number of people I talked to for this profile of Quintanilla in the paper version of Unfair Park saw this coming a long time ago.
A year ago, he was leading opposition to Farmers Branch's anti-illegal immigrant policies. Recently, he’s been rallying Hispanics to fight Irving’s use of the Criminal Alien Program. Only, Quintanilla’s arrest had nothing to do with civil disobedience, but merely a host of traffic violations from an array of local agencies. That's not embarrassing at all -- used to happen to Martin Luther King Jr. every other week. And worse, when your cause is working to sway public opinion in your general direction, the last thing you need is one of your leaders plastered on the cover of The Dallas Morning News getting bailed out of jail for expired registration and failing to wear a seat belt. After the jump, Irving PD's complete list of warrants. --Megan Feldman
Dallas Sheriff Office Warrant -- Criminal Trespass
Farmers Branch Warrant -- Expired Registration
Farmers Branch Warrant -- Failure to Maintain Financial Responsibility
Farmers Branch Warrant -- Speeding
Dallas Police Department Warrant -- No Seat Belt
Dallas Police Department Warrant-- No Driver’s License
Dallas Police Department Warrant-- City Ordinance Violation
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