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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
Recent dashboard entries from California
The newest published events and reporting located in California, updated automatically from the live dashboard.
Other
Whistleblower alleges FBI targeted Los Angeles anti-ICE protesters
Prosecution
Charges dropped against five Stanford students over pro-Palestine protest
Prosecution
Judge dismisses all charges against the Stud Alley 18 arrested during San Francisco Pride weekend
Protest
Two injured at Teamsters protest outside Amazon warehouse; sheriff says motorcyclist intentionally struck crowd
Other
Five invited reporters held at gunpoint by Vandenberg Space Force Base security
Other
Photojournalist Steven Berumen shoved by federal officers while covering an LA immigration protest
Prosecution
Anti-ICE protester accused of pouring lighter fluid on CHP car is sentenced to prison
Prosecution
Westlake man sentenced for anti-ICE protest actions
Documented cases
1,526 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.
J
John Vilerino
John Vilerino was a Los Angeles worker facing deportation in the January 1931 Labor Defender account. It descr...
I
Isaac Antonio Villegas Molina
Released
Isaac Antonio Villegas Molina is a Los Angeles day laborer and a named plaintiff in Vasquez-Perdomo v. Noem, t...
N
Natalio Villi
Released
Natalio Villi was a member of San Francisco Ship Scalers Union Local 38-100 during its 1935 strike. After an e...
J
John Hubert Vogt
John Hubert Vogt is individually listed in the INS civilian custody roster as confined at Sharp Park Detention...
I
Ivan Von Staich
Ivan Von Staich was a California prisoner who pursued relief for himself and similarly situated San Quentin pr...
F
Frank Waldron
The December 2 report names these marine unionists among those actually arrested at San Pedro in the strike an...
L
Lawrence Walker
Released
Lawrence Walker was a Black former Air Force sergeant convicted of a double murder near Riverside, California...
G
George Wallace
Released
George Wallace was a seaman and member of the Marine Firemen, Oilers, Watertenders and Wipers Union prosecuted...
G
Gerisch Walter
Gerisch Walter is individually listed in the INS civilian custody roster as confined at San Pedro Detention St...
P
Paul Walton
Released
Paul Walton was a Black worker arrested after protesting police interference with a James W. Ford meeting in L...
J
Jack Warnick
Released
Jack Warnick was a defendant in the Sacramento criminal-syndicalism prosecution arising from the organizing ca...
S
Stanley Warren
Stanley Warren, identified as the International Labor Defense representative, was individually named among tho...
G
Gertrude Warwick
GertrudeWarwick was an Oakland labor and unemployment organizer who worked with SoniaKaross and AnitaWhitney....
W
Walter Watson
Walter Watson was a Black prisoner at Soledad State Prison and one of the Soledad Seven, a group the Black Pan...
C
Constance Webb
Released
Constance Webb was a Black Panther Party member who was six months pregnant when police arrested her during th...
B
Britt Webster
Page 1 names Britt Webster and Joe Figureroa as defense-squad leaders at the Los Angeles Marine Workers Indust...
J
John G. Weiler
Released
John G. Weiler was a member of the Communist Labor Party convicted under California's Criminal Syndicalism Act...
J
John Wells
Released
John Wells appears in the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors’ 1968 military-prison lists of conscie...
F
Fred West
Fred West was a San Francisco representative of the California State Federation of Labor arrested with William...
L
Larry West (Ruchell Magee legal collaborator, 1971)
Larry West was a California prisoner who collaborated with Ruchell Magee on legal research. The June 29, 1971...
C
Chuck Whatford
Released
Chuck Whatford was a member of the Catholic Worker Farm in Sheepranch, California. On December 28, 1982, he wa...
G
Glen White
Released
Black Marine, the only one of the 'Camp Pendleton 14' acquitted of the charges arising from Black Marines' 197...
H
H. C. White
Released
H. C. White was an Industrial Workers of the World member who served a sentence at San Quentin, according to S...
J
Jack Whyte
Jack Whyte, also recorded as Jack White, was an Industrial Workers of the World activist imprisoned during the...
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