Santa Ana, CA – On February 26, 20 community members marched along Civic Center Drive to confront the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD). Chants of “Jail killer cops!” and “La migra la policía, la misma porquería!” echoed throughout the neighborhood while passing locals honked in solidarity. Attendees waved signs about Noe Rodriguez that demanded justice, as well as other recent victims of police violence.

Noe Rodriguez was killed while unarmed and experiencing a mental health crisis in December of 2024. Public records requests made by Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) revealed that the SAPD Officers responsible for his death, Luis Casillas and Isaac Ibarra, still work for SAPD and have been quietly moved to other units.

Jocelyn Pacheco of CSO’s Police Accountability Committee (PAC) presented the facts of Noe’s case, stating “Luis Casillas and Isaac Ibarra, the officers responsible for his murder, continue to serve on the force, even after shooting him 29 times. How can that be justified as self-defense?”

Erika Armenta, Noe’s widow, called out anti-accountability council members, stating “Some representatives tell us we can’t fire the officers while they are under investigation for an incident, but who can guarantee that our communities are safe from repeated violence?”

Both officers have been involved in other cases of misconduct and death since killing unarmed Noe Rodriguez. Casillas shot and killed Henry Gonzalez Jr on January 1, 2025, who was also suffering from mental illness, including suicidal behavior.

Ibarra was involved in the brutal arrest and in-custody death of Freddy DeAngelo Washington on January 16, 2025. He later took part in the beating of 15-year-old Mario Diaz, who had to be taken to a hospital for injuries despite surrendering to police – this was documented in a video dated June 9, 2025.

Less than two weeks before the protest, members of CSO OC, including Noe Rodriguez’s two young daughters, were approached by Officer Isaac Ibarra while holding a press conference in front of the department.

Matthew Compton of CSO shared, “When we started filming Ibarra and confronted him with his crimes, he lied and said we threatened and assaulted him. The truth is that he repeatedly tried to provoke us to fight him.”

Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) member David Pulido spoke in Spanish about how the long pattern of police killings of Chicanos are a feature of national oppression and said, “We need a revolution to establish working-class political power and liberate oppressed nations like Aztlan. That is the solution to these racist police killings!”

The march was led by Noe Rodriguez's family and CSO OC, and supported by Chicanxs Unidxs (CU) and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Legal observers from the Peace and Justice Law Center (PJLC) also came in solidarity with the community.

CSO OC fights for Chicano self-determination, community control of the police and legalization for all undocumented immigrants. They have general meetings every third Thursday in Santa Ana, and can be reached on Instagram @cso.oc and Facebook, Orange County CSO.

#SantaAnaCA #OrangeCountyCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesMovements

Orange County, CA – On Saturday, February 10, dozens of protesters stood in front of Harvest Fresh Market, an Orange County Arab market, chanting, “Hey, hey, ho, ho! Sadaf foods have got to go!” The purpose was to demand that Harvest Fresh remove Sadaf Foods products from its shelves.

Sadaf Foods, which is based out of southern California, is a known Zionist establishment. Within 30 minutes, the supermarket agreed to the demand and immediately began unstocking the various products from its shelves.

The tremendous event was organized by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, along with support from Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Centro CSO-Orange County, Black Lives Matter Grassroots, International League of Peoples’ Struggles, and many others.

Speakers talked about why they stand in solidarity with the boycott. Maria Elena Madrid, representing Centro CSO-Orange County, spoke on what CSO fights for, “We are a grassroots, working-class organization fighting for the self determination of Chicanos and all oppressed people!” She thanked everyone present for supporting the boycott and explained, “Sadaf Foods disguises itself as a legitimate business of the people for the people when in fact it is not. It profits from doing business with the enemy! It is a company that supports settler colonialism and acts of genocide on Palestinians.” She ended her speech with a poem called Oh Rascal Children of Gaza by Khaled Juma.

David Pulido representing Freedom Road Socialist Organiation took the loudspeaker chanting, “Free, free, Palestine!” and “Long live Palestine!” as the crowd shouted back with enthusiasm. He spoke on how Sadaf Foods is funded by Zionist banks. “Sadaf has deep agricultural businesses that were built on stolen Palestinian land – shame! When the U.S. government pinches pennies for social programs at home, both Republicans and Democrats agree to send billions of dollars of military aid to Israel. Billions, billions of dollars to support the genocide of the Palestinian people – shame!” Pulido linked the fight against the police of Orange County who are trained by Israel, to then target and kill Chicanos and oppressed nationalities, back home. “This is why in the belly of the beast, we strike blows with a common enemy, U.S. imperialism!”

Near the end of the protest the organizers of the boycott thanked everyone for their support in the massive victory against Sadaf Foods. Organizers assured participants that they will check every day, to ensure there is not one Zionist product on their store shelves. It was stressed that the ongoing boycott of Sadaf Foods and any other Zionist businesses would continue, by any means. They suggested actions like following Sadaf Foods’ social media, going to its public events and protesting its continued support for Israel.

#OrangeCountyCA #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #Boycott #FRSO #CentroCSO

The Justice 8 also known as the “Victorville 8” are Chicano activists who defend street vendors and expose racist instigators across Southern California. They were unfairly targeted and arrested during an early morning raid on December 12. Law enforcement is calling it “Operation Accountability.” The raids were carried out by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, Pomona P.D., Fontana P.D., Upland P.D., and Victorville P.D. Each of the eight are facing 14 felony charges ranging from conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping.

The eight have been held in jail over the holidays and denied bail by a judge during their arraignment on December 18. The Victorville courthouse deliberately denied courtroom information on where they were being held, making one of their attorneys late to the hearing. Their constitutional right to counsel was violated and the hearing proceeded without their attorney present.

Centro CSO and CSO Orange County stand in solidarity with the Justice 8 and demand authorities to Free the Eight! We call on the San Bernardino District Attorney Jason Anderson to grant bail and drop these outrageous charges!

It is clear that the authorities of San Bernardino county are attempting to criminalize the Eight’s First Amendment rights, their activities criticizing elected officials, and holding protests against the police. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department has a long history of brutality and killing of Chicanos. Right-wing Sheriff Shannon Dicus announced the charges at a press conference, trying to paint the activists as terrorists and a danger to the public who make money from their social media platforms. We denounce Dicus’ attempts to character assassinate the eight and his false accusations.

We learned from the Tampa 5 and their successful campaign to have felony charges dropped that the state will use any means to intimidate and silence opposition through arrests and trumped-up charges. Protesting is not a crime and we must unite with the eight individuals facing heavy state repression for their activism and demand they are freed from jail.

District Attorney Jason Anderson, DROP THE CHARGES, FREE THE JUSTICE 8!

#OrangeCountyCA #VictorvilleCA #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #Justice8

Orange County, CA – On Friday, October 27, over 30 students and community members gathered across two events to listen to Gia Davila of the Tampa 5 on her stop of the Justice for the Tampa 5 speaking tour. The Tampa 5 are a group of students, workers, and community activists who were violently arrested while protesting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ racist attacks on education at the University of South Florida. They are facing up to ten years in prison and are on a speaking tour to call for these unjust charges to be dropped.

Gia Davila, a member of Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), gave context to the current political climate in Florida. She spoke on legislation being proposed that attacks LGBTQ, reproductive, immigrant, union and education rights. She described the bill that Tampa Bay SDS were protesting on the day of the arrests, HB 999, “which effectively banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs from universities. It also had nasty rhetoric about tenure for professors, it attacked Black history, it attacked ethnic studies and multicultural groups.”

Davila continued, “Not only are we innocent, we were doing something good. More students should be protesting on campus to retain these programs and expand these programs of diversity on our campuses.”

The prosecution is threatening them with consequences if they talk to the press, but Davila confidently said, “Of course we are not going to listen to them, that is why I am here.”

The events were put on by CSO Orange County and were co-sponsored by the MEChA de UCI chapter and the Chicana and Chicano Studies Department of CSUF.

Sol Márquez, a member of Centro CSO in Boyle Heights, stated, “The Tampa 5 is much more than specifically people in Tampa, it transcends to all of us who are fighting for what is right.”

Michelle Sanchez, co-chair of MEChA at UCI, highlighted the political repression experienced by students at UCI by saying if they had collaborated with the university to put on this panel, they “would have had to strike some things off of the conversation,” otherwise it would not be approved. She encouraged attendees to get organized in order to fight this repression.

Dr. Marlén Ríos-Hernández, a Chicana studies professor, urged people to take action in this time of heightened political repression, stating, “There will be a time where you have to make up your mind about what you want for the liberation of others, for the liberation of your own people, and decide what it will take for you to be unafraid.”

#OrangeCountyCA #PoliticalRepression #Tampa5 #DeSantis #StudentMovement #SDS #CSO #MECHA