Tents, Flyers, and Masks: Protesters Occupy Arcata Plaza Over Encampment Crackdowns
Around 25 to 30 protesters were gathered at the Arcata Plaza today, Sunday, April 19. They have been occupying the area since Saturday, according to what they told our reporter, Ryan Hutson. Some appear to be settling in to stay overnight.
![Volunteers serve meals at the Arcata Plaza as part of the ongoing protest, where Food Not Bombs offered vegan chili or salmon pasta with rice and salad. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/3be07709-2273-4f6c-896b-5f6d011f58f6-1-900x675.jpg)
Volunteers serve meals at the Arcata Plaza as part of the ongoing protest, where Food Not Bombs offered vegan chili or salmon pasta with rice and salad. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]
![Tents and protest banners, including “Stop the Sweeps” and “Stop Cop City,” are set up at the Arcata Plaza, where demonstrators have been gathered since Saturday. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/04ec23ea-a384-468c-b843-c431f19c3739-900x506.jpg)
Tents and protest banners, including “Stop the Sweeps” and “Stop Cop,” are set up at the Arcata Plaza, where demonstrators have been gathered since Saturday. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]
![One of several portrait-style masks worn by demonstrators depicts a local official, with the eye areas cut out and a cigarette inserted. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/0869ce62-d392-45e8-ad74-5fcd01ba4993-900x506.jpg)
One of several portrait-style masks worn by demonstrators depicts John Shelter, owner of People of New Directions that cleanup homeless encampments with the eye areas cut out and a cigarette inserted. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]
A flyer distributed at the Arcata Plaza protest criticizes what organizers describe as increased ticketing of unhoused residents and enforcement by the city’s outreach team. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]
![Another flyer outlines the protest’s message, calling for an end to “sweeps” and arguing for community-based responses instead of enforcement. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/77363db5-b712-4b96-9ec5-313f582ae1a7-900x506.jpg)
This flyer calls for an end to “sweeps” and arguing for community-based responses instead of enforcement. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]
Video by Ryan Hutson
The protest appears tied to recent enforcement efforts along Arcata’s railroad corridor and nearby properties, where the city has been coordinating with property owners and contractors to remove long-standing encampments. City Manager Merritt Perry has described the effort as enforcement of trespassing laws on private property, while critics argue the approach has displaced residents without sufficient notice or available shelter.
Several masks depicting the Arcata City Manager Merritt Perry and one of John Shelter lay on a tablecloth with flyers describing grievances. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]
One of several portrait-style masks worn by demonstrators depicts John Shelter, with the eye areas cut out and a cigarette inserted. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]
The protest comes a day before April 20, commonly known as 4/20, a date that traditionally draws a number of celebrants to the Arcata Plaza. With demonstrators already established at the site, it is unclear how the protest may intersect with possible gatherings in the college town.
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I’m glad they’re ticketing people for smoking in public. Not so glad about shuffling human beings around. That’s cruel and messes up more spaces as they’ll inevitably move somewhere else.
Totally.
Que the fearly comments of woke boogeyman indoctrinating blah blah and taxes Newsom blah blah and progressive plot policies and junk like that
You on meth?
Which way do you believe methheads generally vote? Red or Blue
And that’s the answer.
Blue will legalize drugs and hand out foil, pipes, and needles for (hahahahahahaha) harm reduction.
Thanks, great story, I now have my Halloween costume! I’m getting one of those masks and going as Merritt Perry!
They’re only ticketing homeless people though…. Plenty of students and customers standing outside Everett’s smoking don’t see tickets while homeless people on or even blocks away from the plaza are receiving multiple in one day
Yes- this has been the reality the last few years. ArQueda using it’s restrictive rules to further oppress the downtrodden…while claiming social justice warrior status and progressive politics. It’s a weird town that we used to love…
This is completely false! I am on the plaza daily and see all kinds of different people get citations. From people who appear homeless, to Cal Poly students, to the working class.
Those protesting are more than welcome to invite those who refuse to be productive members of society into their own homes.as soon as they clean up the mountain of trash they’ve left behind.
Nothing like a cigarette after a nice meal of vegan chili or salmon pasta with rice and salad.
Don’t eat that unless they they have passed a health inspection.
It kinda shows the true underbelly of the Arcata sentiment.
They seem to want to project that Arcata is a “free and easy” environment , passing laws to protect immigrants, power using green methods, etc, but, at the heart of it, probably just want to be liberal enough to attract the money that comes from HSU students…
Hypocrisy.
The very core and intent of the Arcata administration needs to be scrutinized.
IF YOU DONT SUPPORT AND STIMULATE THE ECONOMY YOU ARE NO LONGER A CITIZEN AND HAVE NO HUMAN RIGHTS. SO SAYS NEWSOM
You don’t have to support all that garbage to be a citizen. Not supporting that crap will make you a citizen.
OMG! Did they cross the invisible”do not cross” line over to the south side of the plaza. That’s not allowed because it would disturb the sensibilities of the left leaning Nimby Progressives and professors as they have their morning Cappuccino and croissants at the cafe!
Clean it up ! Arcata used to be a great town. The plaza was wonderful, only one bum “ Pete “
Arcata is a pro comunist shithole alot of people that used to live there avoid going there because of nonsense like this
Yes, all of the residents of Arcata are the same. A lot of ppl are saying that.
I’ve heard that if
you say anything
about anyone anywhere
that thing is
true for everyone
everywhere!
When was the last time you were on the plaza? Its always been a very pleasant time every time I’ve been recently.
I dont go out at night, so maybe I’m missing the scrappy part. But during the day its as lovely as ever.
Leave them out there and it’ll prove everyone’s point. The trash, the cigarette butts, the feces, the dogs, etc will be stacking up soon. Where’s Dave Meserve? Why don’t they go live in his yard?
That is terrible. I hope the Plaza is cleaned up soon.
So the slackers are protesting about the bums? Here’s a crazy idea…Get to Work the whole lot of you!! Get a friggin job and do it!!
IF YOUALL DID NOT LIVE LIKE PIGS THERE WOULD BE MORE TOLERANCE TO YOUR SQUATING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. Live better Work.
Ironic since the plaza at one time was full of tents…but it was people coming here for work!! There was a shortage of housing and these folks showed up Wanting Work in the mills and the woods. Kind of backwards display of mental illness going on here…
I would like the plaza to be a safe space for high school kids and teens to hang out. It has come to my attention that teens go here to get drugs and end up meeting up with mentally challenged people that effect their lives in negative ways. It’s the that hard drugs that are the problem and police should enforce and have presence there. Who cares about cigarettes? There are ways to deal with trash and butts.
It’s just coming to your attention now?!! Hard drugs are peddled daily on the plaza. Used to be in the bars until those got shut down. Used to be just weed and shrooms in the 80’s but nowadays high schoolers have easy access to meth and fenty. What a nice progressive town….
Arcata represents everything wrong with leftwing ideology
Could the individual in the interview have offered the “elderly” person a place to stay at the place where they reside?
In that situation – perhaps it was not clear – Bryan is homeless, and so relocated his “bedding” from somewhere else to be beside the woman for her assurance – but there was no house or apartment or other residence to speak of between them, hence the van…
Hello. I have worked with people of new directions. JOHN SHELTER isn’t an evil man running unhoused people out into worse conditions. He simply cleans up after them. Literally, tons of trash is hauled out from these camps. As well as thousands of used syringes. That puts many others at risk for health reasons. As it just accumulates with no one taking responsibility for cleaning up after themselves. Thats the real issue. Use of private properties without permission is trespassing. A crime. I feel that alternative locations aren’t suggested or provided. That is the fault of city officials, not John Shelter. His business provides a service to clean up the garbage, not run people out. When met with threats, police get involved. Otherwise he respects people and their personal property. He tries to help unhoused people. Offering a job or other help if he can. Put the blame on the real people that decide. The city officials. You all know I speak the truth. Don’t blame PEOPLE OF NEW DIRECTONS. They’ll work with you to try to find a solution. All you’ve got to do is talk. Stop blaming them.
The problem with “I feel that alternative locations aren’t suggested or provided” is that, once a government entity provides or even directs people to a location, they have responsibilities for what happens. They have myriad of health, safety, and traffic rules they are responsibility to enforce. They must supply these things on property they own no matter how uncooperative or destructive the people ysing these places are. And become the deep pockets for law suits if something goes wrong.
it is never as simple as people think.
He is a fake, lying, manipulative, greedy liar. If you are fooled by his “nice guy” routine and can’t see his duplicitous nature, I have a bridge I want to sell you. Just wait, you’ll see. His time will come and it’s gonna happen soon. He and the City of Arcata fucked up bad.
At the end of the day the city of Arcata particularly Merrit Perry, APD, and John Shleters have gone above and beyond in collusion To criminalize homelessness. You can blame trash and drugs and smoking as much as you would like but if you are actually paying attention and seeing what’s happening it’s clear the efforts being made are to make it so inhospitable and impossible to survive in Arcata as an unhoused individual that there is no option but to move on or perish. These actions come at the cost of actual human lives and nobody despite their circumstances should be treated in this way. These are Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and members of our community weather you like it or not and they should all be treated with dignity and equality no matter what your views of them are. The best measure of how a city treats its residents is by how it treats its most vulnerable and by that measure Arcata is doing a deplorable job. Do better, most of us are closer to being without a home or shelter than we like to think or admit.
The City can not “do better” when the homeless will not or CAN NOT do better themselves. For example, the hotels that Arcata House Partnership took over in Valley West in 2023 are already becoming uninhabitable.
https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2026/feb/24/burdened-repairing-low-income-housing-and-worried/
3 years and completely renovated apts need to be repaired!
I am glad they are cleaning up the town. If you feel so strong about this, put them up in your house.
Thank you Mr. Brian Atchison and Company for helping this 72 year old woman. You should be commended for showing her what the community represents. Thank God you were there for her when Officer Lee clearly was not.
Your kindness and compassion warm my heart and give me hope for Humboldt.
As for the law enforcement, mayor’s, and others that are for these “Sweeps” WHY DO YOU ĎO THEM AT THE WORST POSSIBLE Times? It makes no sense to sweep people out of the only place they have, take all their belongings, tents, blankets food at the beginning of winter or in early spring when it’s cold and rainy?
This just puts more strain on the Missions, Arcata House etc. Which causes less funding to help people because the people who have been swept need to start from scratch. Clothes, jackets, everything. WHY?
To sum up Arcata and this article: Always remember- no dogs on the Plaza.
All Species Parade- but …No Dogs Allowed!!
I don’t think the protesters “percieve” Perry Merritt as being directly involved with the homeless encampment sweeps, They “Know”! Public records show a concerted effort where he played conductor. Despite his denials, the city has been pressuring private property owners to get his trail pushed through for a couple of years. GRTA, The City of Arcata, the APD and John Shelter (Perry Merritt and Emily Sinkhorn), Without legal court orders, they have violated the civil rights, and stolen the belongings of the O street encampment community, elderly, and the disabled there. Public records demonstrate their disregard for the welfare of these people. It’s diabolical and their greed is unacceptable. Hmmmm I hear that property values will increase by having the Great Redwood Trail next to your property!!!! That’s wonderful. I wonder why Perry Merrit has been so aggressive with pushing that agenda?? Gee I guess we’ll know soon