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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.
Daniel Ellsberg
Released
Daniel Ellsberg was a former RAND Corporation military analyst and State Department official who in 1971 leake...
Lawrence Emery
Released
Lawrence Emery was from Sacramento. Lawrence Emery was convicted of violating the California Criminal Syndical...
Mitsuye Endo
Released
Mitsuye Endo Tsutsumi was a Japanese-American clerk for the California Department of Motor Vehicles when she w...
Oscar Erickson
Released
Oscar Erickson was an IWW officer and a leader of the Imperial Valley farm workers strike. Oscar Erickson rece...
Patrik Eriksson
Released
Patrik Eriksson was a Swedish Greenpeace participant jailed in California following the 2001 Vandenberg anti-m...
Frederick Esmond
Released
Frederick Esmond was an Oxford University graduate. Frederick Esmond was a newspaper and publicity agent for t...
Moctezuma Esparza
Moctezuma Esparza was a UCLA student and United Mexican-American Students organizer named among the ten defend...
Carlos Espriu
Released
Carlos Espriu, 23, of Palm Desert, CA was charged with attempted arson in the May 31, 2020 firebombing of the...
William T. Farr
Released
William T. "Bill" Farr was a Los Angeles newspaper reporter imprisoned for protecting confidential sources. Wh...
Franz K. Ferenz
Released
Franz K. Ferenz was an Austrian-born art dealer and film exhibitor active in Los Angeles. His Plaza Art Center...
Vincent Ferrero
Released
Vincent Ferrero, also known as Vincenzo Ferrero and John the Cook, was an Italian anarchist, cook and newspape...
Michael Finney
Released
Michael Finney, who later used the name Langston Wright, was a member of the Republic of New Afrika. New Mexic...
Andrew Fisher
Released
Andrew "Fish" Fisher, an Occupy San Diego organizer, was convicted under California Penal Code § 148(a)(1) of...
Zeph Fishlyn
Released
Zeph Fishlyn, age 52, of Oakland, Greenpeace 28 - September 2019 Houston Ship Channel bridge rappel.
Robert J. Fitzgerald
Released
Robert J. Fitzgerald was a Marine Firemen union member and one of the maritime workers prosecuted in the Modes...
Romaine Fitzgerald
Released
Romaine Fitzgerald was a Compton-born Black Panther who joined the Southern California Chapter of the BPP in e...
William Flanagan
Released
William Flanagan was an IWW member. William Flanagan received a one- to fourteen-year prison sentence, which h...
Herman Fletcher
Released
Herman Fletcher was a Black Marine sergeant and one of the Camp Pendleton 14, prosecuted after Black Marines c...
Flores Forbes
Released
Flores Forbes joined the Black Panther Party in San Diego as a teenager in 1968 and rose to assistant chief of...
George Ford (Sonoma County labor raid, 1935)
Individually captioned with C. Meyer as a victim beaten by Sonoma County vigilantes after labor leaders were s...
Richard "Blackie" Ford
Released
Richard "Blackie" Ford was an IWW spokesman convicted of second-degree murder for the 1913 Wheatland Hop Riot...
Ernest Fox
Released
Ernest Fox was a California Communist Party organizer arrested in the July 1951 Smith Act roundup. High bail k...
Leonard Roy Frank
Released
Leonard Roy Frank was a writer and civil liberties activist who was involuntarily committed to the California...
Roland Freeman
Roland Freeman was wounded during the Central Avenue raid and held in the Los Angeles County General Hospital...
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