Cal Poly Humboldt Activist Rick Toledo Arrested, Released on Bail

Rick Toledo walked out of Humboldt County Jail on Sunday afternoon, release paperwork in hand, as supporters who had spent the morning protesting outside the Humboldt County Courthouse on International Women's Day moved to greet him. The Cal Poly Humboldt student organizer had been in custody since University Police arrested him at 1 a.m. Friday on four counts tied to a February 27 sit-in at Nelson Hall.

Booking records show Toledo was charged with false imprisonment (PC 236), criminal conspiracy (PC 182(a)(1)), assault (PC 240), and battery (PC 242). The assault and battery counts are misdemeanors; the false imprisonment and conspiracy charges are wobblers, meaning prosecutors can pursue them as either misdemeanors or felonies depending on the circumstances alleged. Toledo was freed after a $2,000 bail bond was posted against the $25,000 bail amount.

The charges appear to stem from an incident in which Toledo allegedly blocked Michael Gordon Moore, associate director of the university's Gutswurrak Student Activities Center, from stopping a protester from bringing food into Nelson Hall during the occupation. Cal Poly Humboldt has also filed a petition for a civil workplace violence restraining order on behalf of Moore. Toledo had already been handed an interim suspension before his arrest, and at least three other students were placed on interim suspensions following the Nelson Hall occupation, barred from campus under threat of arrest.

The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office has not yet filed formal charges. DA Stacey Eads confirmed in an email that her office "do[es] have an investigative report from Cal Poly Humboldt Police Department under review for potential filing of criminal charges." No other arrests related to the conspiracy allegation have been announced.

Jarret, a Cal Poly student who was outside the jail awaiting Toledo's release Sunday, rejected the assault claims against his friend. Supporter Mackenzie Faust told the Times-Standard she had come to the courthouse because Toledo "does really good work, and I respect the way that he shows up for the community."

Toledo, who is identified in different accounts as a graduating senior, a graduate student, and a Students for a Democratic Society engineering master's student, said his organizing group had already bailed out more than 10 students arrested in connection with the broader protest activity, using funds raised through social media. "The process was very long yesterday because we weren't expecting $10,000 bales," Toledo said. "So we actually had to go through bail bonds for everyone and we had to have cosigners for them and we had to go through a whole process with a bail bonds agency." Any money remaining in the bail fund, he said, would go toward attorneys for those who need one.

Toledo and his supporters have maintained he was playing a supportive role during the protests. "We have been playing a supportive role throughout the protests," Toledo said. "A bunch of students had come together, along with people from various organizations and decided to perform this action."

The DA's review will determine whether the wobbler charges are pursued as felonies or misdemeanors, a decision that carries significant consequences for Toledo's academic standing and future.