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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.

1,533Documented
32In custody
958Released
13Awaiting trial

Eras of repression in California

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

1930s 361 1970s 206 1960s 205 1910s 176 2020s 125 1980s 90

Documented cases

1,533 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.

B
Bert Muttersbaugh
Bert Muttersbaugh was individually named among anti-nuclear demonstrators arrested during the June 10–18, 1983...
P
Phoebe Fletcher
Phoebe Fletcher was individually named as actually serving a thirty-day jail sentence after arrest during the...
B
Bob Landry
Bob Landry was individually named as arrested three times during the June 1983 Vandenberg anti-nuclear occupat...
D
David Moody
David Moody had actually served eight days in jail for the June 20, 1983 obstruction protest at the Point Mugu...
A
Adam Weber
Adam Weber was actually jailed after refusing probation and a fine for his part in the June 20, 1983 blockade...
S
Sanderson Beck
Sanderson Beck was individually named among two El Segundo anti-nuclear protesters convicted after a November...
G
Glafko Sikelianos
Glafko Sikelianos was individually named among two El Segundo anti-nuclear protesters convicted after a Novemb...
P
Paul Bloom
Paul Bloom was one of three Livermore anti-nuclear protesters at a September 26, 1983 hearing after a June 20...
E
Edith Morris
Released
Edith Morris was individually named among seven Pacific Life Community anti-nuclear protesters arrested inside...
C
Claire Morris
Released
Claire Morris was individually named among seven Pacific Life Community anti-nuclear protesters arrested insid...
P
Phil McManus
Released
Phil McManus was individually named among seven Pacific Life Community anti-nuclear protesters arrested inside...
P
Perry Bush
Released
Perry Bush was individually named among seven Pacific Life Community anti-nuclear protesters arrested inside L...
S
Scott O'Keefe
Scott O'Keefe was imprisoned in connection with nonviolent resistance to nuclear weapons. The Site 300 update...
W
Walter Dorrell
Released
Walter Dorrell entered Vandenberg Air Force Base in mid-December 1983 to protest ICBM tests aimed at Kwajalein...
D
Don Eichelberger
Released
Don Eichelberger was detained on February 21, 1985. During the February 21, 1985 Bohemian Grove protest-cases...
M
Marion Pack
Marion Pack, director of the Orange County Alliance for Survival, refused probation after conviction in the Fe...
L
Liza Apper
Liza Apper was individually named with Valerie Sklarevsky in the August 6, 1986 Hiroshima remembrance protest...
B
Bill Phipps
Bill Phipps was individually named among the San Diego Catholic Workers arrested August 6, 1986 after painting...
B
Bob Holzman
Bob Holzman was individually named among the San Diego Catholic Workers arrested August 6, 1986 after painting...
P
Patrick Diehl
Patrick Diehl was individually identified among three men who actually spent two nights in jail after the Dece...
S
Sally Bell
Released
Sally Bell pleaded no contest at the September 23, 1985 arraignment for trespass after the Hiroshima Day prote...
A
August Rodin
August Rodin was an immigration detainee held at Angel Island in 1932. A contemporary newspaper reports six mo...
J
Juan Torres
Juan Torres was a striking strawberry worker convicted with four other strikers of assault and battery in Alha...
S
Silverio Garcia
Silverio Garcia was a striking strawberry worker convicted with four other strikers of assault and battery in...

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
28 cases
Los Angeles County JailLos Angeles, California
26 cases
Folsom State PrisonFolsom, California
22 cases
San Quentin Rehabilitation CenterSan Quentin, California
16 cases
Metropolitan Detention Center, Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
15 cases