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California

Political repression plays out state by state — shaped by local institutions, prosecutors, and movements for defense. These are the documented political prisoners and cases the census holds for California.

1,526Documented
39In custody
898Released
17Awaiting trial

Eras of repression in California

Where California’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.

1930s 354 1970s 205 1960s 198 1910s 174 2020s 131 1980s 90

Documented cases

1,526 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.

Gary Johnson
Released
Gary Johnson was a homeless rights activist who in 2010 slept on the steps outside Santa Cruz City Hall in pro...
Rodney Johnson
Released
Rodney Johnson, a member of the Communist Workers Party, was one of the "NASSCO 3," three San Diego shipyard a...
Ryan Johnson
Released
Ryan Johnson was a US Army soldier who refused deployment to Iraq and sought refuge in Canada. He helped organ...
Victor Johnson (Modesto maritime defendant, 1935)
Individually named in the caption identifying the eight Modesto maritime defendants in this union history. The...
Curtis Jones Jr.
Released
Corporal Curtis Jones Jr. was one of the "Camp Pendleton 14," a group of Black Marines court-martialed after t...
Ellis O. Jones
Released
Ellis O. Jones was a Los Angeles writer and co-leader, with Robert Noble, of the Friends of Progress. He testi...
Hank Jones
Released
Jones was active in the late-1960s/early-1970s Black Power milieu as a former Black Panther and later became k...
Tahan K. Jones
Released
US Marine lance corporal who declared conscientious objection during the 1990-1991 Gulf War mobilization and r...
Michael Justesen
Released
White anti-imperialist activist and former Weather Underground member arrested in November 1977 in Los Angeles...
Zachary Karas
Released
Possession of Molotov cocktails at the La Mesa police-HQ protest, May 30 2020. Sentence: 33 months federal pri...
Esther Karpiloff
Released
Esther Karpiloff was one of the staff of the communist children's summer camp at Yucaipa, California convicted...
Samuel H. Kashinowitz
Released
Samuel H. Kashinowitz was a Los Angeles Communist who, together with Ben Dobbs and Henry Steinberg, was senten...
Steve Kelly SJ
Released
Father Steve Kelly SJ is an American Jesuit priest and one of the most prolific Plowshares activists in U.S. h...
Roy Kepler
Released
Roy Cecil Kepler was a pacifist and founder of Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park. Local reporting documents jail fo...
Matthew Keys
Released
Matthew Keys is a journalist and social media editor who in 2010 allegedly provided members of the hacktivist...
Jeff Kibre
Released
Jeff Kibre was a Hollywood studio worker and leader of the rank-and-file movement against the mob-linked leade...
Kathy Kimbrough
Released
Kathy Kimbrough was arrested in the December 8 raid on the 55th Street Panther residence. Contemporary Party r...
Diamond Kimm
Released
Diamond Kimm was a Korean-born metallurgical engineer, former Office of Strategic Services operative, and edit...
Earl King
Released
Earl King was secretary of the Marine Firemen's Union and a defendant in the Point Lobos murder case. Arrested...
Nicole Kissane
Released
Nicole Kissane is an animal rights activist from Southern California who, along with Joseph Buddenberg, was in...
Katya Komisaruk
Released
Anti-nuclear activist who, on June 2, 1987, single-handedly destroyed a NAVSTAR satellite ground-control compu...
Fred Korematsu
Released
Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu was a Japanese-American welder in Oakland, California who refused to comply with Civ...
Ron Kovic
Released
Ron Kovic is a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant who was paralyzed from the chest down in the Vietnam War and became...
Shirley Kremen
Released
Shirley Kremen was a student tried in San Francisco for sheltering Smith Act fugitives Robert Thompson and Sid...

Institutions in California

Prisons, jails, and detention centers in California that appear in the census’s case files.

San Quentin State PrisonSan Quentin, California
171 cases
Federal Bureau of Prisons
60 cases
Sharp Park Detention CampSharp Park, California
33 cases
Presidio StockadeSan Francisco, California
27 cases
Los Angeles County JailLos Angeles, California
26 cases
Folsom State PrisonFolsom, California
22 cases
San Quentin Rehabilitation CenterSan Quentin, California
16 cases
San Diego County JailSan Diego, California
13 cases