Clovis Police says adults helped organize student walkouts, face charges

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) — Clovis Police and the Clovis Unified School District are taking a public stance after a series of student walkouts earlier this month, saying several adults with no ties to local campuses helped coordinate the demonstrations.

Students in Fresno and Clovis Unified walked out on Feb. 10 to protest immigration enforcement tactics, joining similar actions across the country.

Clovis Police Chief Curt Fleming says parents are not the focus of the department’s response.

“I want to clearly state: we are not going after parents. You have the right to check out your student once a year to civically protest,” he said.

However, Fleming says district checkout procedures were not followed, and investigators are instead concerned about adults who do not have children enrolled in the district.

“What we’re concerned about is what we saw over the last two weeks is kind of a coordinated effort by some outside adults who don’t have students at these schools that are posting things on social media that are drawing these students out,” Fleming said.

He added that posts directed students on how and when to leave campus.

Those messages included “…where they’re telling them to go, what time to leave, what to bring with them, the purpose that they’re protesting and telling them to leave school,” Fleming said.

Clovis Police say they have identified up to six adults involved, with two appearing repeatedly at multiple walkout locations over the past two weeks.

“Those are the people we are going after for contributing to the delinquency of these minors,” Fleming said.

ABC30 legal analyst Tony Capozzi noted that any criminal case would require prosecutors to prove the intent behind those actions.

“For a criminal prosecution, you have to intent, you have to show the intent, in the person’s mind, what are they trying to do? Are they trying to break the law and cause havoc? That might be a different story,” Capozzi said.

Clovis Police are completing their investigation and plan to file misdemeanor charges.

Once submitted, the case will be forwarded to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.

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Clovis Police says adults helped organize student walkouts, face charges

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