A prominent San Francisco activist known for her vocal support of the “Defund the Police” movement found herself at the center of a social media firestorm this week after thieves made off with a rented U-Haul truck containing nearly all her belongings. Darcie Bell, who goes by “Jerque Cousteau” on X, took to the platform to plead for help:
*”If you see a 26-foot U-Haul truck with the Arizona plate AL50003—would you let me know because it had like everything I own on it.”*
Instead of sympathy, Bell’s post went viral for exposing what critics called glaring hypocrisy. Users dug up years of her anti-police posts, juxtaposing her plea for help with her calls to abolish law enforcement.
Tom Wolf, a recovery advocate with a significant following on X, shared a side-by-side comparison of Bell’s desperate call for help and her previous anti-police rhetoric. His caption? “Shot. Chaser.”
The account Bay State of Mind, which critiques Bay Area politics, summed up the sentiment of many: *“Anti-Police activist begs the police to help.”*
The irony was not lost on the online community. Bell has a history of deriding law enforcement while championing radical calls to defund or abolish the police entirely. Now, her demand for immediate action to recover her stolen possessions was seen as a glaring contradiction.
True to form, Bell fired back. Despite filing a police report as U-Haul required, she vented her frustration at law enforcement for not miraculously recovering her belongings within hours.
*”I haven’t found my s—! The cops didn’t do s—! U-Haul made me file a f—ing police report!”* she fumed in an interview. *”There’s cameras all over this city. They haven’t done s—! I just want my stuff back!”*
Bell doubled down on her disdain for the police, claiming she had “literally never called the cops” herself and reiterating her support for defunding law enforcement.
U-Haul, for its part, reminded Bell that recovering its stolen truck required cooperation with authorities. Its customer support team urged her to provide the necessary police report to its Equipment Recovery department.
Meanwhile, critics continued to highlight the absurdity of the situation. Many pointed out that Bell’s vocal opposition to police funding likely contributed to the very lack of resources and manpower she now blames for the slow response.
Rather than reflect on the irony of her predicament, Bell lashed out at her critics. She accused detractors of being heartless, sarcastically referring to them as *“good, Christian ‘victim advocates’ celebrating my kids losing their belongings at Christmas.”*
For many, this episode serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of short-sighted activism. Bell’s predicament is emblematic of the broader challenges facing San Francisco and other progressive cities that have championed anti-police rhetoric while grappling with rising crime.
The question remains: Will activists like Bell ever connect the dots between their ideological crusades and the real-world consequences they create? For now, it seems she’s content to blame everyone but herself.
