Dayton Anti-War Group Solidarity Statement with Rick Toledo

On March 19th, 2026, Rick Toledo, Pro-Palestine activist and SDS Humboldt organizer, was presented a warrant at his apartment by campus police and had his electronics seized (which included his laptop, phone, camera, etc.). The campus police of California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt then attempted to pressure and force Rick to release his passcodes, to which he stood his ground and refused.

This assault on Rick’s domicile accompanies four fraudulent charges (false imprisonment, conspiracy, assault, and battery), in relation to a perfectly constitutional and legal protest Rick participated in back in late February. We, as an organization focused on fighting against American imperialism, stand in full solidarity with Rick Toledo against this wrongful persecution by the California State Polytechnic University administration and law enforcement. Students and everyday people are facing greater persecution, surveillance, and violence everyday for standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Protesting is not a crime: it is fully covered by the first amendment, and Rick was legally exercising these rights through his rights of free speech and freedom of assembly. Our group demands that all of Rick Toledo’s possessions be returned immediately and his home and person be left unbothered in the future. This legal assault on Rick is one stitch in a larger fabric of the multi-institutional war against the Palestinian Liberation Movement in the United States. When Rick and other organizers, students, and citizens like Rick are subjected to these witch hunts, we all are on the proverbial chopping block.

Drop the charges, and solidarity with Rick Toledo!