Clovis Police Consider Truancy Charges Against Fresno Resistance Co-founder After Student Walkout

Alfred Aldrete, co-founder of the Fresno-based anti-ICE organizing group Fresno Resistance, says he expects to be charged by Clovis police any day after he helped escort students through a mile-long march during a Feb. 10 student walkout. The Clovis Police Department announced it is considering misdemeanor charges against up to six adults under California Penal Code Section 272, which forbids adults from inducing students into truancy, though no arrests have been made and the Fresno County District Attorney had not filed charges as of the time of reporting.

The Feb. 10 walkout was part of a statewide wave of student protests triggered by the shooting death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. In Clovis, roughly 50 students walked out of Buchanan High School, escorted by community members including Aldrete, who says he was providing security for the marchers. Across multiple Clovis Unified campuses, including Clovis High, Clovis East, and Clark Intermediate, more than 200 students marched to the intersection of Clovis Avenue and Shaw Avenue that Tuesday morning.

During the march, a Clovis police officer stopped Aldrete and two other adults and asked for their names, dates of birth, and phone numbers. Aldrete described the officer's approach bluntly: "He really did the old, 'We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way.'" He said the selective enforcement stood out to him. "They weren't stopping any of these counterprotesters who were driving by, smogging, throwing water or yelling s . But they did stop me and two of the other adults."

The morning after the walkout, Clovis PD issued a joint press release with Clovis Unified School District announcing its intent to file misdemeanor charges. "These actions are unacceptable," the statement read. "Adults who contribute to or promote truancy place minors at risk and interfere with their education." Police said they had identified two adults and were working to identify the remaining individuals, with a target of up to six total facing charges for "Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor."

Counterprotesters were also present at Buchanan High that day, including livestreamer Josh Fulfer, who was present during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to CalMatters reporting.

The statute Clovis PD cited is not typically applied to political protests. The Fresno County District Attorney's Office files roughly 20 Section 272 charges per year, according to DA spokesperson Taylor Long, and those cases generally involve harboring runaways, providing alcohol to minors, or involving minors in other crimes such as theft. The DA had not filed any charges related to the Clovis walkout at the time of reporting.

Clovis Unified Superintendent Corrine Folmer was among 10 Fresno County superintendents who, the weekend after the walkout, issued an open letter to parents urging students to stop leaving campus to protest, citing safety risks. A district spokesperson added that students had the option to protest at school rather than walking out.

Clovis PD was one of only a handful of law enforcement agencies in the country to threaten criminal charges against adults who escorted protesting students, alongside the Los Angeles Police Department. The walkouts were part of a broader pattern: since a Jan. 30 national strike protesting the killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, hundreds of students across Fresno and surrounding communities had taken to the streets daily. In other states, school districts in Oklahoma and Virginia suspended students for walking out, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he was investigating teachers in three districts where students participated.

For Aldrete, the possibility of charges has not slowed Fresno Resistance's work. The day after the Feb. 10 protest, the group's email inbox was full, and inquiries from student-led and faith-based organizations continued to come in. Aldrete said he remains prepared to face whatever Clovis PD decides to do next.