'It won't be long before all our rights are taken': Community members gather in solidarity for the 'Spokane 3'
May 18-More than a dozen people gathered near Spokane City Hall on Monday to show support for three people on trial this week for their actions during or before a protest last summer.
The gathering comes a year after a Spokane protest against the detainment of two legal immigrants, Cesar Alvarez Perez and Joswar Rodriguez Torres, made national news. The events led to the arrests of more than 30 people on myriad charges including nine who faced federal conspiracy cases. Six people struck plea bargains with federal prosecutors. The three going to trial for federal conspiracy are Justice Forral, Jac Archer and Bajun Mavalwalla II.
The Rev. Walter Kendricks called the charges appalling and unjust. He knows two of the three individuals who are on trial.
"As a Black man, I will tell you, I have been fighting for rights for probably 60 years, and I can assure you, if my rights have been allowed to be taken away, it won't be long before all of our rights are taken," Kendricks said.
The trial is expected to last about two weeks, community organizer Hadley Morrow said.
"These are the first protesters in the nation to be swept up in what we now see as a national pattern of using conspiracy and similar charges to target protesters in an attempt to criminalize our dissent and to cripple the tools that we use to fight for our rights and stand for our neighbors," Morrow said. "The implication of the jury's ruling will set precedent that ripples across the nation."
Eric Ard, an activist with About Face Veterans in Tacoma, called on the community to show support for the three in Spokane and dissent against the charges.
"I want to be clear, this was not an act of conspiracy," he said. "This was an act of community. Community is when neighbors step forward because someone is hurting, offering care without being asked."
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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 7:05 PM.