Tucson Anti-War Committee Stands With Rick Toledo
On March 6th, police raided the home of Rick Toledo, a grad student and Students for a Democratic Society activist, at Cal Poly Humboldt. He was taken into custody without bail, held for two days, and now he is facing four bogus felony charges that could carry up to 14 years in state prison. Days before the raid, Toledo had been suspended and fired from his university teaching job. These are politically-motivated attacks in response to Toledo’s support of a sit-in demonstration to demand that Cal Poly Humboldt divest from Israeli apartheid and call for an end to the genocide in Gaza on February 27.
Less than a week ago, University Police returned to Toledo’s apartment with a warrant and seized his laptop, phone, and other electronics such as a camera. They attempted to force him to give up his passcodes, and he told them no. He did the right thing.
Students at Cal Poly Humboldt have a proud history of protesting for Palestine. In 2024, students took Siemans Hall in the name of divestment and held it for 9 days. Now, the university and state of California have decided they want someone to pay for this heroic moment and their target of choice is Toledo. This is the real reason underlying the targeting and unleashing of state repression on Toledo, for a simple campus protest.
The Tucson Anti-War Committee condemns this arrest, the university crackdown, the threat of criminal charges, and the seizure of Toledo’s personal electronic devices. We stand with Rick Toledo, and we demand that these bogus charges are dropped and his personal belongings returned. Protesting for Palestine is not a crime!
