PREVIOUSLY

• Cal Poly Humboldt Activist Arrested, Three Students Handed Interim Suspensions for Nelson Hall Occupation
• I Saw the Shit Buckets. They Were Real. Inside Nelson Hall During the Occupation

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Update, Thursday 9:15 a.m.:

The Humboldt County District Attorney’s office is in the process of filing misdemeanor charges against Cal Poly Humboldt activist Rick Toledo ahead of a hearing later this month.

The charges are a piece of an ongoing legal battle between the university and the activist related to a March protest.

Toledo was arrested March 6 by the University Police Department, on suspicion of battery, assault, conspiracy and false imprisonment — alleged crimes which stem from protest activity on campus the week before.

UPD forwarded a report seeking felony charges and continues to investigate the case.

The District Attorney’s office has yet to finalize the criminal charges, but DA Stacey Eads said in an email “misdemeanor charges will be filed against Mr. Toledo in time for his anticipated April 20 arraignment date.  The paperwork is being processed by our staff for filing with the court.”

Toledo, a masters engineering student who is currently temporarily suspended, said his cell phone, computer, school laptop, a gaming hard drive and two cameras were seized by police on March 19. One camera he used while he was a legal observer.

“The raid is a definite escalation against me,” he told the Outpost. 

The March building occupation called for university divestment from Israel and a smattering of other requests. Since then, Toledo was arrested and released on a $25,000 bail, barred from campus under an interim suspension and faced a workplace violence restraining order.

Toledo, who was among the very few unmasked protesters at the building occupation, was accused by the university in legal documents and suspension paperwork of leading the protest and assaulting a university official, both of which he denies.

Officials pointed to Toledo blocking the man who was attempting to halt protesters as they tried to enter the occupied building with supplies.

An image university officials claim shows Toledo assaulting a staff member. Photo: Dezmond Remington.

The workplace violence restraining order was dismissed March 24, according to court records. Toledo said it was dismissed after his pro-bono attorney from the Civil Liberties Defense Center and the university, represented by the Attorney General’s office, came to an agreement he said did not include meaningful restrictions.

He said these developments have taken a toll on him. His life was disrupted when police seized his devices.

“It’s had a big impact on me; all my research, my homework and everything was on there,” he said.

And he said the efforts of the police has a psychological effect on him.

“You don’t really feel comfortable in your own home anymore, because when are they going to come again? What are they going to do next?” he said.

He was unable to access accounts and said he struggled to keep up with classwork. He is skeptical he will be able to finish this final semester given his suspension and the device seizure, with missed projects and midterms.

Under an academic conduct case, he recently attended an interim suspension appeal hearing he said went well, but generally called the process a “kangaroo court.”

Toledo and his attorneys are working to file a motion related to the items seized from him, and he’s used crowdfunded money to replace some devices.

Toledo believes the efforts of the university are political in nature. He argued the university is trying to scare people out of taking similar protest actions.

“The university has invested a lot in making me looking like a criminal terrorist,” he said.

“They’ve been wanting to get rid of me for a long time. I’ve been an outspoken organizer on campus for three years, and I think that this is just like… they just saw a big opportunity,” he said.

He urged activists to continue protesting, arguing the university wouldn’t take the actions unless what activists were doing was working.

UPD refused to comment, directing the Outpost to the university communications department.

“We cannot comment on the details of an active investigation. We can confirm that the case is under investigation by UPD, which is the lead agency on the case. Anyone with additional information about the case is encouraged to contact the University Police Department,” a statement sent by spokesperson Melissa Hutsell said.