For Immediate Release:
Contact Steven DeCaprio; phone: (510) 255-5283, email: mcli1965@gmail.com
On December 15, 2017 the Alameda County District Attorneys announced they would be dropping all the charges against the Land Action 4, a group of squatters and housing rights organizers. The charges against Steven DeCaprio, Kelly Jewett, and Aisha Alves-Hyde were dismissed immediately, and the charges against Patrick Xu are scheduled to be dismissed in 6 months pursuant to a deferred entry of judgment agreement in the case People v. DeCaprio; Case Number 612587A-D in the Alameda County Superior Court.
Steven DeCaprio, founder of Land Action and Interim Executive Director of the
Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute, had been assisting landless people occupy
abandoned property for 17 years, and was named one of “12 Visionaries of 2012” by the UTNE Reader for this work. Recently he assisted the First They Came for the Homeless encampment in the City of Berkeley as they sue the City of Berkeley in order to establish sanctioned encampments.
Kelly Jewett is the current CEO of Land Action and co-founder of Occupy the Farm.
Patrick Xu and Aisha Alves-Hyde, who were formerly homeless occupied an abandoned
house in the Cleveland Heights neighborhood near Lake Merritt acting as on-site property managers for Land Action.
The occupation began in mid-September of 2015 and went unnoticed by the owner of record for 3 months. Subsequently an agreement was made for the occupants to move out of the property. However, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office broke the agreement and arrested Xu as he was removing the last of his belongings from the property.
Arrest warrants were issued Wednesday January 20, 2016. The organizers, came to be
known as The Land Action 4, and were charged with 7 charges; 3 of which were felonies.
Among the allegations is that these organizers were involved in a “Conspiracy to
Trespass,” a common charge used to target civil rights organizers. Arrest warrants were issued for Alves-Hyde, Kelly Jewett, and Steven DeCaprio; none of whom were physically on the property at the time the warrant was issued.
Nearly 2 years passed from the time that the prosecution of the Land Action 4
commenced until this dismissal. At the time the case was initiated the Oakland City
Council had declared a shelter crisis. Since then homelessness has increased causing
many to seek shelter in encampments throughout the city.
“This was a politically motivated prosecution devoid of legal merit. The prosecution completely folded in this case, and it was clear they did not want to take this case to trial. It is despicable for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office to target homeless people and community organizers when we are in the middle of such a severe shelter crisis. This is an example of misplaced priorities; the D.A. putting the interests of real estate speculators before the interests of the majority of people living in Alameda County.” said Walter Riley, defense attorney for Alves-Hyde and President of the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute.
Land Action, the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute, and their allies continue to fight for
the rights of landless people.
On January 8, 2018 the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission will consider an open letter from Ann Fagan Ginger, founder of both the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute and the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission, which asserts that the harassment of landless people by the City of Berkeley constitutes an unlawful violation of human rights. “This ongoing oppression represents a historic and ongoing policy of human rights violations targeting landless people in violation of many human rights laws including the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, the Fourth Amendment right to privacy and due process of law, the Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection under the law, and Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognizes the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.”, stated Ann Fagan Ginger
The dismissal of the charges against the Land Action 4 is encouraging in that local
governments are realizing that criminalization of homelessness is unlawful, unsustainable, and immoral forcing local governments to change policies. The City of Oakland has begun creating sanctioned encampments, and the City of Berkeley has not evicted current encampments of First They Came for the Homeless while the litigation is pending.
“We are at a crossroad when it comes to the rights of landless people. Up until now
homelessness has been criminalized. However, as the number of unhoused people
continues to rise such criminalization becomes an increasingly untenable position.”
stated Steven DeCaprio, “Now is the time for us to mobilize to change the inhuman and
degrading treatment of landless people so that all people are treated with basic human
dignity and fundamental principles of human rights are upheld including the right to
housing.”