CPH Student Organizer Arrested on Felony Charges After Nelson Hall Sit-In

Cal Poly Humboldt University Police pulled engineering master's student Richard "Rick" Toledo from his Arcata residence at 1:02 a.m. on March 6, booking him into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on a Ramey warrant connected to a Feb. 27 occupation of Nelson Hall. The booking sheet listed four counts: false imprisonment under Penal Code 236, criminal conspiracy under Penal Code 182(a)(1), assault under Penal Code 240, and battery under Penal Code 242.

Toledo, a Students for a Democratic Society organizer, remained in custody over the weekend while Humboldt County District Attorney Stacey Eads reviewed an investigative report submitted by CPH University Police. "We do have an investigative report from Cal Poly Humboldt Police Department under review for potential filing of criminal charges," Eads wrote in an email, adding that a warrant for Toledo's arrest carried a bail amount of $25,000. The DA had not formally filed charges as of Monday; under California law, prosecutors have 48 hours from the time of arrest, excluding weekends, to present a case before a judge or release the defendant.

The arrest was made on a Ramey warrant, a mechanism that allows law enforcement to detain a suspect on probable cause before the district attorney files formal charges. The Ramey warrant in Toledo's case was issued Feb. 28, the same morning protesters dispersed from Nelson Hall after what they described as threats of force from officers who responded in large numbers to the building overnight.

The university's case against Toledo extends beyond the criminal arena. The California Attorney General's office is prosecuting a civil workplace violence restraining order petition on behalf of the CSU Board of Trustees and Cal Poly Humboldt, naming Michael Gordon Moore, associate director of the Gutswurrak Student Activities Center, as the protected party. In court filings submitted to Judge Kelly Neel, the university asserted that "Respondent is the leader of a student group that organized an illicit occupation of a campus building starting on February 27, 2026." Interim Dean of Students Raven Craig told the same judge that "the university is seeking Mr. Toledo's expulsion for his actions stemming from a February 27 'occupation' of one of the university's campus buildings."

According to reporting by the Lost Coast Outpost, the criminal allegations appear to stem from an incident in which Toledo blocked Moore from preventing protesters from carrying food into Nelson Hall. A photograph taken by Dezmond Remington shows Toledo positioned between Moore and a protester at the building entrance. CPH officials cited the same confrontation in court declarations and in Toledo's suspension notice.

Toledo, who was placed on interim suspension before his arrest, is one of several students barred from campus in the wake of the sit-in. At least three students were issued interim suspensions, which are authorized by the campus president or a designee and prohibit students from setting foot on university property on the grounds that they pose a potential threat to public safety. Cal Poly Humboldt declined to confirm the total number of students disciplined, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Supporters gathered at the Humboldt County Courthouse at 11 a.m. on March 6, the same morning Toledo was booked, to demand his release. A smaller group returned to the courthouse on International Women's Day on Sunday.

Toledo told the Lost Coast Outpost before his arrest: "They're just giving it to any single person who was even near the protest that they can identify. This, I mean, it's definitely unjust.