Oakland, CA – On Friday, August 14, around 20 community members rallied at a street corner in downtown Oakland to protest another man being killed by Oakland Police Department (OPD). Jose Santos Castillo Ortega, a 43-year-old Latino man, was shot and killed by officers last month after a call by California Highway Patrol, which had pursued him from a homeless community. Very few details of the incident were revealed to the public until body camera footage was uploaded to the public records website.

The protest, called by the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, was joined by POOR Magazine, Black Alliance for Peace, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Community Service Organization. Some protesters held picker signs with the words “FIght against police brutality.”

Rickie Cleere of the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said, “Video and audio footage show Castillo clearly in mental distress almost the entire time as multiple officers aimed guns and tasers while they walked him down through Oakland streets, with him yelling ‘leave me alone’ and ‘I'm not doing nothing.’”

Cleere continued, “Through organizing and action can we move toward a future in which the police do not get away with murdering our community members. A future in which the people have a direct say over who polices them and how they are policed. This is a future with actual police accountability through community control, and the time to build that future is now!”

Noah Teller, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said, “These officers were amateurish and completely unprofessional. They antagonized a man who was posing no threat to anyone. Shame! Living in peace in a highway median, what is the crime? Who is he harming?”

The crowd formed a march contingent towards OPD headquarters while chanting “Justice for Jose Castillo! No more cops killing our people!” Protesters marched down several blocks to the police station, where they continued to chant and demand accountability and for the names of the officers involved in the shooting, before marching back.

The street corner where community members gathered is affectionately called Oscar Grant Plaza, after the man who was shot and killed by Bay Area Rapid Transit police in 2009 at Oakland’s Fruitvale station.

#OaklandCA #CA #InjusticeSystem #KillerCop #JoseCastillo #NAARPR

Oakland, CA- On Saturday, July 18, 32 community members gathered at the site where the Oakland Police Department (OPD) shot and killed a man in Oakland's Fruitvale district on Monday afternoon. Mourners placed flowers and candles on a street median near a shopping center where the victim died, held moments of silence, and created protest art in the street to honor his life while demanding justice and accountability.

The vigil, organized by the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (OAARPR) with support from POOR Magazine, Justice for Jalani, Coalition for Police Accountability, Community Service Organization, Urban Peace Movement and Black Alliance for Peace, transformed the site of the killing into a memorial and a space for community resistance. Throughout the evening, speakers condemned the police killing, criticized the growing role of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) in East Oakland, and called for the immediate release of all video evidence.

The shooting happened shortly after 2 p.m. near the 4000 block of International Boulevard, a predominantly immigrant neighborhood. According to the Oakland Police Department, CHP officers requested assistance after a man fled during an operation that began at a nearby homeless encampment. Police claim the man was “armed.”

Police have not identified the man or described the alleged weapon. Despite the shooting taking place on a busy commercial corridor with many surveillance cameras, OPD has not released body camera footage or other video evidence, fueling community demands for transparency.

“This is the third person killed by Oakland police this year,” said Romaine Charite, chair of the impacted families committee of OAARPR. “They aren't releasing the details of these killings. They haven't been releasing body camera footage, which is against California law. We have the California Public Records Act. They are going around killing people, and we are not going to put up with that.”

“If there was not a sweep, no one would have died,” Jeremy Miller from Black Alliance for Peace told the crowd. “Our homeless people are our community. Our street people are our community.”

Terry Lovett, the mother of Jalani Lovett, who has fought for justice since Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies killed her son in 2021, also addressed the vigil from a very personal place, rejecting the claim that expanding policing creates safer neighborhoods.

“We reject the false choice that says our only option is more police and more violence. We need housing, not handcuffs; mental healthcare, not punishment; education instead of fear,” Lovett said. “No one is coming to save our communities. We must save our communities. We keep each other safe.”

“He belongs to somebody,” Lovett said of the man killed by OPD. “He belongs to us if nobody else.”

Community members noted that the man killed by police has still not been publicly identified and condemned media coverage that erased his humanity. One widely circulated news report stated that “no community members were harmed.” Organizers called the language a stark example of the dehumanization of unhoused people and a life lost.

The killing is the third police shooting by OPD officers this year and the department's second fatal shooting. Although OPD says the officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave while multiple investigations are underway, those gathered at the vigil said official investigations are meaningless without public evidence. OPD remains under federal oversight stemming from the Riders police misconduct scandal, which resulted in a court-ordered reform process that has continued for more than two decades.

As bouquets of flowers and community artwork covered the pavement where the man was killed, attendees closed the vigil by renewing their demands for the release of all available footage, the public identification of the victim, and accountability for the officers involved. The crowd ended the evening with a chant that captured the spirit of the vigil, “Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe.”

#OaklandCA #CA #InjusticeSystem #OAARPR #KillerCop

Oakland, CA — On Tuesday, June 16, over 50 people gathered in person and via Zoom to support Guillermo Medina Reyes at his Mental Health Diversion Court hearing in Alameda County.

Medina is a Bay Area tattoo artist and longtime organizer for the rights of detained immigrants and incarcerated people, having organized hunger and labor strikes during his detention at Golden State Annex in McFarland, California from 2021 to 2023.

“I'm here today at the courthouse in Alameda in support of Guillermo, who has been detained by ICE,” said Trancita Ponce from Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, who has been supporting Medina since her release in 2024 after serving 25 years of incarceration.

“I met him about a year and a half ago. We were doing a solidarity tattoo, and he came and tattooed me, my freedom tattoo. He was the nicest, most genuine guy. He has come up against a lot of struggles and adversities. For him to be detained by ICE is another struggle. We stand here today in solidarity and for him to know that he is not alone. He is supported by a community, friends and family who are not going to give up on him. Free Guillermo!”

Advocates urged the court to keep Medina’s case within mental health diversion during his time at CoreCivic's for-profit California City Detention Center. They emphasized that he has consistently met his treatment requirements – despite ongoing obstacles from ICE, including the last-minute cancellation of his legal call to attend the hearing.

In response, his team quickly arranged a workaround by setting up a separate call with Medina on speakerphone while attending the hearing via Zoom, as supporters filled the courtroom. This allowed Guillermo to attend his own hearing, despite the barriers imposed by ICE and CoreCivic.

“He was able to listen in. He wasn't able to join virtually directly on the screen, in part because I feel like the facility has been flagging him directly and retaliating because of the organizing he's doing inside. And they canceled our call. So, there was no legal call for him to be able to actually see the screen and see who is in the courtroom. So, other injustices we continue fighting on a daily basis along the way,” said Esperanza Cuautle from Pangea Legal Services and CSO Oakland.

Members of Medina 's campaign stressed the importance of keeping the case in mental health diversion, where Guillermo could see his case dismissed by continuing treatment. If transferred to criminal court, he would not be given the same flexibility and would face the near-certain risk of a warrant for failing to appear at a hearing he physically cannot attend – due to already being in state custody at ICE and CoreCivic's for-profit detention center.

At the end of the hearing, Judge Elisa Della-Piana sided with Medina 's request and positively acknowledged the dedication and efforts of his advocacy team in ensuring his presence at the hearing despite the challenges from the federal government and the private prison company.

The ruling sets a powerful precedent in Alameda County, allowing undocumented individuals to access mental health diversion, where they can receive proper treatment and potentially have their cases dismissed. That stands in stark contrast to a transfer to criminal court, which would only benefit Trump's deportation agenda and private prison companies like GEO Group and CoreCivic – companies that gain billions in profit from family separation, medical neglect, and detainee labor.

In 2025, CoreCivic reported over $2.2 billion in revenue. Of that amount, $130 million came from their California City Detention Center, where Medina and over 1600 people are currently being held.

“Say ‘no’ to this unjust system that criminalizes, deports, and separates our families,” said Danny Celaya from CSO Oakland. “California City Detention Center alone makes CoreCivic $130 million in profit off our loved ones. Shame. But Guillermo is a fighter, a luchador. It's our responsibility to stand with him and with everyone in immigrant detention centers. Free them all!”

Organizations that attended the hearing in support of Guillermo include Pangea Legal Services, Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, SIREN, Amigos de Guadalupe – Center for Justice & Empowerment, California Coalition for Women Prisoners, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, CSO San Jose, CSO Oakland, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#OaklandCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #ImmigrantRights

Oakland, CA – On June 19, hundreds of Black Oaklanders gathered around Lake Merritt for an annual Juneteenth celebration. The National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression put out a call for a day of action to “Defend families impacted by police crimes,” which led the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Pollical Repression to take action.

The Oakland Alliance talked to community members about Jalani Lovett, an Oakland native whose violent death in LA Men’s Central Jail was covered up. They gathered mailing list sign-ups, petition signatures, and GoFundMe donations to reopen his case.

While Oakland's Juneteenth celebrations are normally jubilant and carefree, there was a notable shift in turnout and spirit from previous festivities. A shooting two years ago on Juneteenth gave justification for the Oakland Police Department (OPD) to clamp down. Fences and shut down streets were used to discourage Black people from gathering in large crowds. But the activists mobilized anyway, flyering in response to racist harassment and treatment by OPD. A leaflet read, “This Juneteenth: Fight back against police brutality.”

Amped-up police presence at Black celebrations in Oakland is not new. Recent controversies with violence after monthly “First Friday” festivals in Oakland’s downtown district were met with racist rhetoric against Black people organizing celebrations that draw the “wrong crowd.” This June’s First Friday theme, “Black In Oakland,” drew vendors, performers and dozens of Black residents. Several hours after the event had ended, youth were seen getting rowdy and fighting, and, instead of de-escalating the situation, videos showed OPD tackling and tear-gassing Black children.

The emphasis on police presence is because the perception of Oakland as a Black, crime-ridden city, despite violent crime dropping nearly 30%, hurts the bottom line of property owners and downtown developers. It’s why Kaiser Permanente and PG&E spent nearly a million dollars to reinstate the city's police cadet program. This is not so different from what prompted Mayor Jerry Brown, elected in 1999, to begin using police to “clean up” downtown and make space for luxury projects. He got rid of the city’s first Black police chief, put a narcotics officer in, and unleashed police to attack low-income Black and brown residents.

Members of the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression believe that the struggle between African-Americans and OPD will continue to sharpen. They want to remain prepared by meeting the people where they are and building a rapport with them as a police-crime-fighting organization.

#OaklandCA #CA #Juneteenth #OppressedNationalities #InjusticeSystem #NAARPR

Dublin, CA – On June 8, at around 5 p.m., over 100 participants of the three-day “Caminata for Immigrant Rights” arrived at the corner of Arnold Road and Gleason Drive, next to FCI Dublin, a closed federal women’s prison that ICE plans to reopen as an immigrant detention center.

“This action shows just how united the Bay Area is against ICE. Across all three days, covering dozens of miles, we received only honks of support and cheers from folks. No one wants Trump’s ICE thugs here. Those who joined us, including families with young children, grandmothers, immigrants and allies from Santa Rosa to Napa to San Francisco and beyond, demonstrate how far people are willing to go to oppose new detention centers in the Bay,” said Danny Celaya from CSO Oakland.

Over three days, from Saturday, June 6, at Napa High School to Monday, June 8, in Dublin, marchers covered nearly 70 miles.

“As a member of the vehicle support team, this action was inspiring. People are committed to stopping Trump’s agenda and fighting ICE. Everyday working-class people organized this massive action, that quite literally united forces from every corner of the Bay to collectively say ‘Hell no!’ to the proposed detention centers. This demonstrates what we can achieve through organizing, so let’s be clear, we are going to win! Down with immigrant detention centers! Power to the people’s movements!” said Brandon Cavins from the Oakland chapter of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The march made a powerful impact, garnering press coverage and over 15 news articles in both Spanish and English. It made the front page of both the East Bay Times and Mercury News, the largest newspapers in both East Bay and South Bay, respectively.

The four key demands were legalization for all; ICE out of the Bay; no to immigrant detention centers in Dublin, Alcatraz and Gilroy, and stop deportations and repression.

Peyton Leone, representing Centro del Pueblo in Humboldt County, said, “We hear stories of people being sent to very faraway places when they are detained, and to hear that a new detention center could be opened closer to where I live; that’s something that I would show up every day, any time to protest. That’s why I’m here joining the caminata for all three days.”

Through the organizers’ efforts, families and participants of all ages were able to join as organizers secured lodging, three meals a day, and portable restrooms transported via a truck bed along every mile of the route. Additionally, a team of over 20 medics tended to the walkers, and more than 40 safety volunteers kept people safe across the four counties the march traversed: Napa, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Alameda.

Over 40 organizations took part in this three-day action including Raizes Collective, Almas Libres, Sonoma County Sanctuary Coalition, CSO North Bay, CSO Oakland, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Human Agenda, National TPS Alliance, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, American Indian Movement, CodePink Sonoma County, North Bay Jobs with Justice, North Bay Organizing Project, Bay Resistance, Tsuru for Solidarity, Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network (SIREN), the ICE out of Dublin Coalition, and dozens more.

#DublinCA #CA #OaklandCA #ImmigrantRights #ICE #DetentionCenter #CSONorthBay #CSOOakland #Featured

Oakland, CA – On May 12, around 20 Oakland city workers, activists and community members mobilized to City Hall in support of civilians taking over the 38 administrative jobs currently occupied by the Oakland Police Department (OPD).

The push to attend the city council’s finance committee and to make public comment was called for by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 21, a union representing hundreds of city workers. While workers experience staffing vacancies and budget cuts, OPD overspent up to $33 million a year for the past six years on overtime, with 6% of its force behind desks. The union demands change as the city enters contract negotiations with the Oakland Police Officers’ Association.

“The single biggest overtime expense was half a million dollars for one individual for crash reports, something that should be civilianized,” remarked Kevin Dally, an Oakland resident.

“Oakland should not be discussing cuts to services until you have replaced officers in administrative jobs with regular city staff,” said Romaine Charite, a member of the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. “These are issues that the police union does not want you to act on. Please start listening to Oaklanders, like me, instead of the police union.”

Eliot Goodrich, a transportation planner and member of IFPTE Local 21, spoke on the 23-year-old federal consent decree over OPD after a scandal involving racist police gangs kidnapping, beating and falsely arresting Black and brown residents, stating, “Of the 38 positions identified, 22 are in Internal Affairs. OPD is still under federal oversight, the Negotiated Settlement Agreement is a legally binding agreement with the city, made to 119 Oaklanders who had their civil rights violated.”

Anne Jenks, with the Coalition for Police Accountability, said, “The city council failed for a year to follow up after instructing the city administrator to begin the process of moving investigations from OPD Internal Affairs to the independent Community Review Police Agency. The administrator did nothing until the deadline approached.”

The Community Review Police Agency is the investigative arm of the Oakland Police Commission, which is named one of the strongest civilian police oversight boards in the country and was voted in by Oaklanders to get OPD under control.

#OaklandCA #CA #PoliceAccountability #InjusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #OppressedNationalities

Oakland, CA – On Thursday, April 23, more than 40 people gathered for an art build to prepare for Oakland’s upcoming May 1 rally, march, and resource fair commemorating International Workers’ Day. The event was hosted by Eastside Arts Alliance and organized by Oakland Sin Fronteras, a coalition of over 20 organizations and workers’ unions.

Member organizations include Eastside Arts Alliance, Community Service Organization of Oakland (CSO Oakland), Oakland Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression (OAARPR), Trabajadores Unidos Workers United (TUWU), Bay Area Cuba Solidarity Network, Bay Resistance, California Nurses Association, National Union of Healthcare Workers, SEIU 1020, Alameda Labor Council, Speak Out, East Bay DSA, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and others.

“This year, May Day is especially important,” said Danny Celaya from CSO Oakland. “May 1, 2026 marks 20 years since the historic 2006 mass protests for immigrant rights, when over 3 million across the U.S. rose up against the anti-immigrant ‘Sensenbrenner Bill,’ which attempted to make it a felony to be undocumented or to assist undocumented folks. Those protests defeated the bill and revived May Day in this country. We’re excited to be helping organize this alongside the incredible folks at Oakland Sin Fronteras. We’re keeping the fight going by demanding the release of Bay Area activist and tattoo artist Guillermo Medina Reyes from the for-profit detention center in California City, owned by CoreCivic.”

CSO Oakland is a member of the Legalization for All Network (L4A)

The movement is experiencing a powerful wave of new, young activists, as seen by the many high school walkouts nationwide protesting ICE. At Oakland’s Art Build, that trend continued as high school students made up the majority of attendees, painting banners, signs and creating bucket drums alongside longtime organizers.

“The reason it’s important to involve youth in art builds and help them see how they can be part of May Day is that this generation is witnessing everything we see online and in the news. They want to express themselves, and we’re facilitating safe spaces for that expression and practice. They can take up the baton and move into movement spaces because we need to pass the baton to the next generation. One of the best ways to do that is by having them see themselves in the roles we play today,” said a member of 67 Sueños, a local immigrant rights organization focused on supporting undocumented and mixed-status youth in Oakland.

Beyond immigrant rights, Oakland’s May Day events will also demand an end to U.S. aggression overseas—especially urgent given this year’s U.S.-Israeli bombardments on Iran, Palestine and Lebanon, as well as U.S. attacks on Venezuela and Cuba. They also call for stronger workers’ rights and class solidarity, an end to state violence; and the return of loved ones from prisons, jails and detention centers.

“Solidarity has two parts: unity and struggle. There are many different people represented here today, but we are united in our mutual commitment to justice,” said Noah Teller from OAARPR. “The Oakland Alliance is here to demand justice for Jalani Lovett as part of a broader struggle against state violence. When one of us wins, we all win.”

Music and art will be central to the program, with several performances scheduled, including within the march. Attendees of the art build also took part in a drum line rehearsal to keep the march organized and motivated.

“El arte da vida al movimiento. Por eso seguimos creando y luchando, para ver florecer el barrio de Oakland. (Art gives life to the movement. That is why we keep creating and fighting, to see our Oakland neighborhood flourish),” said Angie Lopez from Eastside Arts Alliance.

Folks can attend Oakland Sin Fronteras' May Day on Friday, May 1 from 2 to 7 p.m. at Fruitvale Plaza, located next to the Fruitvale BART station. A resource fair will open at 2 p.m., followed by the first program at 3 p.m.. The march will take place from 4 to 5 p.m., with a second program running from 5 p.m. until closing around 7 p.m.

#OaklandCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #Labor #MayDay

Oakland, CA – On April 25, around 20 community members attended a cookout and rally at Arroyo Viejo Park in East Oakland. The gathering was organized by the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression to raise funds for the second independent autopsy of Jalani Lovett, who died in custody at Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail in 2021.

Community members bonded at Arroyo Viejo Park over food, music and an educational program about police violence and deputy gangs in Los Angeles. Jalani Lovett and his mother were born and raised in East Oakland before Jalani moved to LA to start his music career.

Lovett died under suspicious circumstances after being held in solitary confinement. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner labeled Lovett’s death as a drug overdose, despite his body showing severe signs of physical trauma that were omitted from the autopsy report.

Terry Lovett, Jalani’s mother, who has been fighting for a proper investigation into her son’s death for four years, stated, “Nobody should go to jail and lose their life. Jail is not a death sentence.” Terry believes a second autopsy could help her get the case reopened after it was dismissed for lack of evidence of foul play.

Xa’miel Thompson, treasurer of the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, emphasized the cases of brutality in the jail, saying, “LA Men’s Central Jail is known for numerous white supremacist Sheriff Deputy gangs who engage in ritualistic torture and murder of Black and brown inmates.”

Jules Damey from Oakland Jericho, an organization fighting to free political prisoners, said, “This same system kills our comrades on the inside. They face countless human rights violations from brutality from guards, indefinite solitary confinement holds, having medical treatment withheld, and not being provided adequate nutrition.”

“We have to understand that the only way we are going to justice for our people in the jails and our streets is to build the struggle for community control of the police, a historic demand of the Black Liberation movement, of the Black Panther Party, and other oppressed people's movements. We want LA Men's Central Jail shut down until there is real accountability for the inhumane conditions, torture and deaths,” said Romaine Charite of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#OaklandCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #KillerCops #NAARPR #OAARPR