BERKELEY CAMPAIGN CENTER
Runningwolf's Hunger Strike
On September 12, 2016, Zachary Runningwolf was arrested for alleged "vandalism" two days earlier during a march in solidarity with the ongoing national prison strike movement. After this he was held in prison for thirty-one days - prior to sentencing - on NO BAIL misdemeanor charges including marijuana possession.
This brazen form of election interference kept Runningwolf from attending four out of five of the pre-scheduled mayoral debates. On September 29, Santa Rita changed his holding location at precisely the "wrong time", keeping him from attending his hearing scheduled that morning and delaying it by another four days, further hindering him from being able to participate in mayoral events.
In response, Runningwolf began a two-week long hunger strike to protest his prohibition from posting bail, the state's tactics of delay & election interference, and the injustice and oppression of the prison system more generally. Santa Rita responded to his hunger strike with another case of administrative manipulation, once again delaying his hearing.
After a month in Santa Rita penitentiary and two weeks without eating, Runningwolf was finally released and he has resumed campaigning to become mayor of Berkeley. His official statement, released for Indigenous People's day during which he was incarcerated, can be read here.