Thumbnail image courtesy of the Redheaded Blackbelt’s livestream of the Jan. 21st protest, taken as a screenshot and edited.
Update, 1:23 p.m. March 7: An anonymous source reached out to inform us that the date for Raymond Evans’ arraignment has been pushed back, before clarifying the case is still being reviewed and the court date has not yet been set. Redwood Voice reached out to the Humboldt County District Attorney’s office to verify, which confirmed that Evans’ court date is still pending. They gave no estimation for when it may be set.
On the evening of March 1st, Redwood Voice received the following press release via email, from the Friends of Raymond and Maggie:
“Cal Poly Humboldt Orders Arrests of Activists, Seeks to Quietly Criminalize Dissent. Don’t Let Them!”
In their latest flailing attempt to supress any dissent, Cal Poly Humboldt and the University Police Department (UPD) have leveled charges against community members Maggie Rasch and Raymond Evans, accusing the two activists of felony “conspiracy to commit a crime,” “vandalism,” and “unlawful use of a mask” just over a week after a January 21st protest. When Evans asked what vandalism he was accused of, the arresting officer Joseph Conlin stated that he witnessed Evans loading signs, drums, and a wagon into his pickup truck after the protest, and that this constituted criminal conspiracy. Is this a reasonable basis for a felony arrest warrant?
In the week prior to obtaining warrants, police twice appeared outside a local house at odd hours of the night, stalking and surveiling anyone they assumed to be associated with the residence. In the first instance, two UPD officers arrived outside the house around 10 PM, shined flashlights into cars parked on the street outside, and knowingly deadnamed Maggie (a trans woman). In the second instance, an Arcata Police cruiser and a Humboldt County Sheriffs vehicle were spotted around 10 PM staking out a street corner one block from the house. Upon leaving, one friend was tailed by the sheriff all the way home.
Maggie Rasch came to Humboldt in 2021, to study the biggest trees on earth as a botany major at HSU. Quickly, Humboldt became a place of refuge as her home state of Montana became increasingly hostile to trans people. She emeshed herself in the local Addiction Recovery community, having over 4 years of sobriety. Maggie works as a wilderness therapy guide helping at-risk youth discover self efficacy and confidence. Raymond Evans is known for practicing the fiddle in the forest and helping people repair their cars at no cost. A seasonal parks worker and a student in the College of the Redwoods Construction Trades Program, he is passionate about the wilderness, music, fixing things, and helping people in times of need. Both Raymond and Maggie are involved with Food not Bombs, serving nutritious vegan meals to anyone in the community who is hungry.
This blatant political intimidation is part of a long pattern of suppressing dissent and protest by the Cal Poly administration and their police. Last year they found that smashing open the heads of unarmed protesters with batons caused too much negative publicity, and so they have shifted tactics. Instead they choose to quietly target individual activists with absurd and inflated charges, hoping it will intimidate dissidents and critics of the University while attracting far less negative attention. This once again highlights how the police exist not to protect the community but rather to protect those in power.
The weaponization of conspiracy charges and mask bans against activists is part of a broader nationwide context of increased repression of political dissidents. In recent years, conspiracy charges have been used to persecute and intimidate activists in Atlanta, Pennsylvania, and more. Mask bans, which also criminalize disability and anyone wearing a mask to protect themselves or their community, have been adopted in many places across the nation including North Carolina, Nassau County (NY) and the California State University system. Mask bans are a direct, authoritarian response to Black Lives Matter and Palestine Solidarity protests, which have adopted the widespread practice of masking in order to protect communities from Covid, doxxing, and state repression.
The Cal Poly Humboldt Administration wants to present themselves as an oasis of progressive tolerance while engaging in the same repressive and discriminatory behavior we see nationwide. To maintain this mirage of progressivism they need their intimidation tactics and criminalization of protest itself to go unnoticed by the broader public. Don’t Let Them! Contact the Humboldt District Attorney and tell them to drop the charges against Raymond Evans and Maggie Rasch! Contact the University and tell them what you think of their blatant suppression of dissent.
You can contact the Friends of Raymond and Maggie at: FriendsofRaymondandMaggie@proton.me
Following up to ask a few clarifying questions, we received a response from Turnip — one of the Friends of Raymond and Maggie, who said many people in the community knew them through Food Not Bombs, which is how they met Raymond and Maggie.
When asked the purpose of the January 21st protest, Turnip explained it was “to bring community together in opposition to Trump’s second term, to the ongoing destruction and occupation of Palestine and in memory of the late forest defender Tortuguita who was murdered by Georgia state police.”
Included below are the fliers for the January 21st protest, as well as related events, initially posted by @occupycalpolyhumboldt on Instagram, captioned: “Submitted by a friend: A week of events and activities in Humboldt, in response to the national call to organize gatherings the weekend before Trump’s inauguration. In remembrance of the murdered forest defender, Tortuguita. In defiance of a fascist state.”
The “national call” in question was for the Festivals of Resistance, the first mention of which we found in a CrimethInc. article from December 3rd, inviting communities from around the country to rally against Trump and honor the memory of Tortuguita — an activist who was murdered in their tent by Georgia State Troopers two years ago in the midst of a raid on a Stop Cop City encampment, according to an article from the Human Rights Campaign.
The Lost Coast Outpost’s Dezmond Remington’s initial coverage of the protest was brief and left partially incomplete, ending with the line, “The Outpost has heard that the protestors moved to campus, and may have occupied a building. Updates incoming.” However, no updates came. Remington also wrote that 30 protesters had showed up at the Arcata Plaza by noon, though in the Redheaded Blackbelt’s livestream of the event, a quick look shows many more had appeared by the time they reached the campus, though the stream ends just as protesters begin to enter a campus building. Specifically, the forestry building, an article by Mia Costale of the Lumberjack points out, which further details protesters proceeded to the Natural Resources building, then marched toward Harry Griffith Hall and eventually Siemens Hall where presumably the protest ended. As far as we’ve been able to find, this has been the extent of news regarding the protest — until the Friends of Maggie and Raymond reached out.
Asked the status of the protesters, Turnip answered that Raymond and Maggie’s arraignments have been set for March 7th and March 20th, respectively, and that both have been released on bail. Both have been charged with two felonies: conspiracy to commit a crime and vandalism, as well as one misdemeanor, unlawful use of a mask, according to Turnip. Turnip also answered that no one else has been arrested in relation to the protest, as far as they are aware.
Turnip also concluded with the following comment: “This process is very opaque and that is part of what makes it effective in having a chilling effect on protest. It is designed to leave anyone else who would want to protest paralyzed by constant uncertainty and constantly asking themselves the question: will this get me thrown in jail?”
Our inquiry to Cal Poly Humboldt regarding the press release received the following response, though it should be noted it is identical to the response sent to the Redheaded Blackbelt:
University Police can confirm that they were arrested for Vandalism, Conspiracy, and Masked While Committing a Crime. (To be clear, wearing a mask itself is not a crime or a violation of University policy, but it becomes both when doing so for the purposes of concealment of identity when violating the law.)
The University not only supports freedom of speech—regardless of the content of that speech—but we protect it and encourage all voices to be heard. The CSU’s interim Time, Place, and Manner policy (TPM), which the University has shared widely with the campus community and explained in multiple announcements, exists to protect everyone’s First Amendment rights while also protecting the right to learn and work in a safe environment.
Understanding that balance is key. We’ve seen a number of protests on campus with dozens of people in attendance since the beginning of the school year where participants have followed TPM policy. In the case of the Jan. 21 event, the two individuals were arrested for the alleged criminal activity on campus, not because they were engaged in free speech. Beyond that, we cannot comment further on an ongoing investigation.
An inquiry was also sent to the District Attorney’s office, but no response has been received by the time of publication.
The latest in this rapidly developing story comes in the form of a call to action. A flier circulated on social media as well as a screenshot of the Friends of Raymond and Maggie press release, seen by us initially on @humboldtmaskbloc’s Instagram page, calls out these charges as a clear intimidation tactic by Cal Poly Humboldt to stifle free speech. It asks the community to contact the District Attorney to demand the charges for the activists be dropped, as well as to call Cal Poly Humboldt to “tell them what you think of their criminalization of protest.”
District Attorney Stacey Eads can be contacted by phone (707) 445-7411, or emailed at districtattorney@co.humboldt.ca.us.
Three contacts are given for contacting Cal Poly Humboldt:
- CPH President Michael Spagna, by phone at (707) 826-3311 or by email at president@humboldt.edu
- Provost & Vice President Jenn Capps, by phone at (707) 826-5083 or by email at jenn.caps@humboldt.edu
- Dean of Students Mitch Mitchell, by phone at (707) 826-3504 or by email at jam624@humboldt.edu
We will continue to provide updates on this story as it develops. We also recommend reading the Redheaded Blackbelt’s article covering these events, which has been in circulation for a few days now and includes more information from interviews with the Friends of Raymond and Maggie.
