Toledo has been wrongly charged with misdemeanor assault, battery and false imprisonment. Another charge, “conspiracy” to commit a crime, is still being weighed by the district attorney. It’s clear that administrators see this as an opportunity to try to take down an effective organizer who has been a thorn in their side for the last three years and as revenge for the 2024 Siemens Hall occupation since they failed to successfully charge the students who were involved at the time.

After entering the courtroom, Toledo pleaded not guilty. A trial date has been set for July 13.

About 25 supporters of Toledo gathered with protest signs for a rally outside the courthouse around 12:30 p.m. in preparation for the 1:30 hearing. Supporters marched in beside Toledo with their protest signs and joined him in the waiting room. Before the hearing began, court officials announced new restrictions, including a ban on protest signs and cell phone use. Supporters say court staff also attempted to limit how many people could enter the courtroom. When that proved difficult, Toledo’s case was called first.

Toledo was represented by attorney Matthew Kellegrew of the Civil Liberties Defense Center. When he approached the judge he quickly entered a plea of not guilty. Three bailiffs were stationed inside the small courtroom during the proceedings, an unusual show of force. Supporters also reported that a university administrator was present to observe who attended the hearing and left after the case was called.

“Cal Poly Humboldt has been trying to silence student organizers for years,” said Toledo. “These charges are an attempt to criminalize protest and scare people into backing down. It won’t work.”

Supporters say the court’s response shows the impact of organized pressure and the power of the people.

“The fact that they suddenly changed the rules and packed the courtroom with bailiffs shows they’re nervous,” said supporter Kyle Berryman at the courthouse. “They see that people are paying attention, and they know we’re not going away.”

Another attendee, Pat Kanzler stated, “Students stood up for Palestine and now they’re being targeted. This is what happens when you challenge institutions that support war and oppression.”

Toledo, who has organized at Cal Poly Humboldt with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) for three years, says the fight is bigger than one case.

“This is about defending the right to protest,” Toledo said. “It’s about standing against repression and standing with Palestine. We’re going to keep organizing until these charges are dropped.”

During the hearing, hundreds of people from all over the country called the court in support of Toledo demanding that the charges be dropped immediately. Supporters say they will continue mobilizing ahead of the July 13 trial and are calling on people across the country to continue to speak out against these repressive politically motivated charges and fight back until the charges are dropped!

#EurekaCA #CA #Humboldt #StudentMovement #RickToledo #InjusticeSystem #SDS #CalPolyHumboldt #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Featured

Eureka, CA – The Eureka city council unanimously approved a strengthened anti‑war resolution opposing U.S. military intervention in Venezuela at a special meeting held on January 12. The meeting was called under pressure from, and following sustained organizing by, the Humboldt Anti‑War Committee (HAWC), who had proposed the initial resolution in early December. During the meeting, their repeated public demand was that the city adopt clearer, stronger language opposing war.

More than a dozen community members addressed the council, demanding that elected officials adopt the resolution rejecting U.S. imperialism and opposing the attacks on Venezuela. Speakers challenged the language within the newest version of the resolution that implied that the intervention in Venezuela would be justified if Congress authorized it.

One of HAWC’s members, Rick Toledo, pointed out that congressional approval does not justify imperialist intervention, “Congress has on many occasions approved of things that were wrong and based on lies, which went against the interests of the majority of people. We look back collectively at these now and can all agree that they were wrong, Vietnam, Iraq, and so much more.”

Toledo continued, “It’s important that we don’t have our tax dollars going towards this. The majority of Republicans, Democrats, Independents and everybody has been against this. That is just what the statistics show. We would like to see our money used to help people here, no more forever words, no more stealing resources – let’s focus on helping people at home.”

Many other speakers throughout the meeting echoed this sentiment, and some took it a step further by pointing out the devastating impact that U.S. imperialism has had on people not only at home but also abroad, while highlighting the importance of local governments to act.

HAWC member David Haynie addressed the council: “100 Venezuelans and Cubans were killed during the kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro, nearly 800,000 Palestinian lives lost in just the last three years, millions dead in Iraq, millions dead in Vietnam and Cambodia, millions of the original stewards of this land lost, hundreds of millions of souls from the African diaspora lost during chattel slavery. This is the legacy the U.S. has left on the world for centuries now – am not placing the responsibility of what I have said on this council, but what we do have here today is an opportunity to make a statement to denounce this legacy. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something, and this is what the eureka city council can do.”

After public comments, the council adopted amendments to strengthen the resolution’s language.

Councilmember Mario Fernandez introduced an amendment changing the title “Secretary of Defense” to “Secretary of War” in the list of federal officials to whom the resolution will be sent. “We no longer have a Department of Defense, we have a Department of War,” saying they should be honest about what these actions are.

HAWC member Kyle Berryman welcomed the vote and framed it as part of a broader struggle against U.S. imperialism. “This resolution shows that the people not only have the power to force institutions to take action but also to make a difference with international issues at the local level. But this fight doesn’t end here. Our demand is clear: free Maduro and stop the war!”

Berryman went on to say that HAWC hopes the Eureka vote will encourage other cities to pass similar resolutions and to take public stands against U.S. wars.

#EurekaCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #HAWC

While the Eureka city council claims that the program will provide opportunities for the homeless population, this has come under scrutiny from social workers, community members and local organizations alike.

Rick Toledo, a organizer from Students for a Democratic Society at Cal Poly Humboldt (SDS Humboldt) voiced his organization’s strong opposition to the bill, stating, “According to the Eureka city council, the proposed LEAD program can only manage ten cases at a time, but we have over 650 homeless people in Eureka. Since the proposed program would give everyone arrested a misdemeanor charge, and only ten people the opportunity to remove it at a time, it effectively criminalizes homelessness.

Toledo continued, “This also creates a greater risk to homeless community members who are suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues. Nearly half of all people who are killed by police have a mental health disability; so, putting police in charge of their supposed ‘safety’ and ‘rehabilitation’ is completely void of morality and absolutely inexcusable.”

SDS Humboldt has also made it clear that their organization will work to pursue litigation against the city of Eureka if Bill 1040-C.S. is passed.

Local social workers and social work students have also begun organizing around this issue, taking strong stances against the bill. Seth Geddes, former owner of the Beneficial Living Center, and a social work graduate student at Cal Poly Humboldt, had this to say, “This ordinance criminalizes basic human acts like sitting or lying down, affecting not just unhoused individuals, but everyone's lawful use of public space for everyday behavior. It relies on unchecked police discretion to selectively enforce through profiling, violating the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Similar laws have failed in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, where costly enforcement did nothing to reduce homelessness.”

Amy Scott and Anna Amezcua have also been actively opposing the bill in city council meetings and working to bring the community together to put a swift end to it. Scott stated, “When it comes to the criminalization of homelessness, the recommendations from research and policy orgs are unanimous – these kinds of ordinances are not just cruel, but ineffective, inefficient and costly! They exacerbate the problems communities experience, make it harder for services to be received, and are three to four times as expensive as what actually works: supportive affordable housing. It’s not rocket science – housing, not handcuffs.”

While the city of Eureka posits itself as a leader in supporting local indigenous peoples, they do not address the fact that a large number of the homeless population in their city are from these communities.

Amezcua states, “It’s estimated that between 20-30% of the unhoused population in Eureka is Native American, a gross overrepresentation of a population that makes up only around 6% of the current population in the county. The sickening irony is that there are multiple people in the city government who are still pushing to make it illegal for anyone to sit and rest in Eureka.”

Amezcua continued, “While proposed ordinance 1040 C.S., the “no camping, sitting or lying” bill, will most likely only be used asymmetrically to make the lives of our unhoused community members more difficult than they already are, which alone should outrage all of us in its unconstitutionality, the bill leaves much up to the discretion of law enforcement, and at any point could be used against any citizen or visitor, at the whim of anyone in power, now or in the future.”

Amezcua went on to say the solution to this problem lies in initiatives to provide more housing and resources to the unhoused population, and not in the criminalization of their community.

A march will be taking place from the Halvorsen Community Park Amphitheater to Eureka City Hall on May 20 at 4 p.m. Once there, all participants are encouraged to voice their opposition to Bill 1040-C.S. during the 6 p.m. Eureka city council meeting.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is a national student-led organization, with over 40 chapters across the country. They organize around social justice, economic, anti-genocide and anti-war campaigns on our campuses and within our communities.

#EurekaCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #InJusticeSystem #SDS #StudentMovement