[UPDATE: Interview with Toledo] Cal Poly Humboldt Student Activist Rick Toledo Released on Bail

Rick Toledo stands outside Humboldt County Jail with release paperwork in hand after he was bailed out on Sunday, March 8, 2026. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]

Toledo was freed after a bail bond of two thousand dollars was posted on the $25,000 bail amount. The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing the investigative report submitted by Cal Poly Humboldt’s University Police Department, which outlines the allegations and evidence against him. 

Cal Poly Humboldt spokesperson Iridian Casarez confirmed in an email to RHBB that University Police arrested Toledo on Friday, March 6, at 1:02 a.m., but declined to offer any further feedback as to the charges against Toledo, or the possibility of further arrests related to the conspiracy charge, writing, “[A]s this is an ongoing case, we’re not able to discuss specific details.” 

Having walked out of the jail with supporters ready to greet him, Toledo thanked the students who had worked to secure the bond through Bill Davidson Bail Bonds. 

The online fundraiser states that donations will be used to cover the cost of the bail bond, and to assist with future legal costs, as well as living expenses during Toledo’s interim suspension. Toledo is barred from his place of employment on campus. [Screengrab from the fundraiser website]

Toledo faces four charges, including criminal conspiracy. No other individuals have been named or arrested in connection with the conspiracy allegation. Fundraising efforts began over the weekend, as allies from student activist groups Toledo works with coordinated to secure his release. 

According to booking records, Toledo was arrested on four counts – charges that stem from the February 27 sit-in at Nelson Hall. Those included false imprisonment (PC 236), criminal conspiracy (PC 182(a)(1)), assault (PC 240), and battery (PC 242). While the charges PC 240 and PC 242 are misdemeanors, the other two, PC 236 and PC 182(a)(1) are wobblers – meaning they can be charged as either misdemeanors or felonies depending on the circumstances alleged. Please remember that he should be presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

In an interview with Jarret, a Cal Poly student and friend of Toledo’s who was awaiting his release on bond Sunday afternoon, he rejected the claims of assault against Toledo. 

Speaking with a friend and fellow activist who was awaiting Toledo’s release at the courthouse Sunday afternoon, Cal Poly Humboldt student Jarret did not believe the conspiracy to commit a crime charge was appropriate.  He said, “Conspiracy for what? They sat in a building for 14 hours. What harm did they possibly cause? Nothing was broken. Nobody was hurt.”

Toledo faces legal proceedings on three fronts at the same time: the civil restraining order, the criminal charges which are the basis for the restraining order, and the campus suspension which has effectively banned Toledo from work and school, because the two are tied together.  

Toledo’s first court date related to the criminal charges is April 20, which is expected to be his arraignment – an initial court proceeding where the charges against Toledo will be read, and a plea is entered. In the civil case, the Order to Show Cause hearing on the Workplace Violence Restraining Order is scheduled for March 25 at 9 a.m. 

But first, Toledo’s interim suspension hearing remains set for this coming Thursday March 12 via Zoom.

UPDATE March 10: Interview with Rick Toledo about his arrest.

Video by Ryan Hutson

EARLIER: 

• Students Briefly Occupy Siemens Hall at Cal Poly Humboldt This Afternoon
• Cal Poly Humboldt Responds After Yesterday’s Occupation of Siemens Hall by Protestors
• Students Dispute Cal Poly Humboldt’s Investment Claims After Siemens Hall Protest
• Students Occupy Nelson Hall at Cal Poly Humboldt, Citing Unmet Demands
• ‘We Will Not Accept the Response’: Students Remain Overnight in Cal Poly Humboldt’s Nelson Hall 
• Students Vacate Nelson Hall Overnight; No Arrests Reported 
• Cal Poly Issues Interim Suspensions After Nelson Hall Student Sit-In
• California Attorney General Files Civil Case Against CPH Student Arrested on Criminal Charges
• Student Organizer Arrested, Attorney General’s Office Prosecutes Restraining Order for Cal Poly, as Local DA Weighs Criminal Charges