California police have charged a man who helped students protest ICE

from Nigel DuaraCalMatters

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A Central California police department this week filed criminal charges against a man who helped escort student protesters during a protest against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, but the case quickly dissipated when local prosecutors said they would not prosecute him.

The Clovis Police Department on Tuesday charged 41-year-old Alfred Aldrete with one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for his role in the February walkout of a student.

“During the investigation, Aldrete was identified as being present at the walkout and is believed to have been involved in directing the student activity and entering the roadway which impacted traffic,” Clovis police said in a news release. “Investigators also identified Aldrete as being present during a separate gathering of students in Clovis on Feb. 5 that occurred outside of school hours.”

Aldrete had long suspected that he was the object of police interest. He told CalMatters last month that police approached him during the march and asked for his name, date of birth and phone number.

He and a small group of volunteers escorted about 50 high school students on a walkout to protest immigration enforcement in February in Clovis, population 128,000, where Donald Trump won all precincts in the 2024 presidential election — some with more than 70 percent of the vote.

Within a day of the walkout, Clovis police said they were considering filing charges against up to six adults under California Penal Code Section 272, which is most often used to prevent chronic truancy. The Los Angeles Police Department also said it was considering filing charges against people who joined immigration-related protests under the same section of the criminal code.

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office has filed about 20 such charges each year for the past five years. These charges usually involve harboring fugitives, providing alcohol to minors, or involving minors in other crimes, such as theft.

A spokeswoman for Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smithkamp said in a written statement that prosecutors will not file charges against Aldrete. The Fresno Bee first reported the district attorney’s decision not to proceed with the case.

“As with any case brought to our office, prosecutors evaluate whether the available evidence meets each element of the alleged crime and whether those elements can be proven in court,” said Taylor Long, a spokesman for Smithkamp’s office. “In this case, a charge under section 272 of the Penal Code requires proof that an adult encouraged or caused a minor to commit a crime. On the evidence presented, this element cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.