Charges dropped against Fresno man for helping protest against ICE

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This week, a police department in central California filed criminal charges against a man who helped accompany the students who participated in protest of 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 Oldrete with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for his involvement in a high school student protest that took place in February.

“During the investigation, Aldrete was identified as being present during the protest and allegedly involved in directing student activity and access to the public right-of-way, which affected traffic,” Clovis police said in a news release. “Investigators also identified Aldrete as being present during another student rally in Clovis on Feb. 5 that took place outside of school hours.”

Aldrete had long suspected that he was a target of the police. 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 to a protest against immigration enforcement in February in Clovis, a city of 128,000 where Donald Trump won all precincts in the 2024 presidential election, some with more than 70 percent of the vote.

A day after the strike, Clovis police announced they were considering filing charges against up to six adults under California Penal Code Section 272, which is often used to prevent chronic truancy. he Los Angeles Police Department He also said he was considering bringing charges against people who participated in 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 runaway minors, providing alcohol to minors, or involving minors in other crimes, such as theft.

A spokeswoman for Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smithkamp said in writing that prosecutors will not file charges against Aldrete. The Fresno Bee newspaper was the first to report it the prosecutor’s decision not to prosecute.

“As with all cases brought before 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 the case of indictment under Article 272 of the Criminal Code, it is necessary to prove that an adult has incited or caused a minor to commit a crime. Based on the evidence presented, this element cannot be proven beyond doubt.”