The hostage crisis and shootout at the Civic Center

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Gunfire ripped through the Civic Center in 1970 and left four dead. This is the story of how a teenager walked into a courtroom, took a judge hostage, and the aftermath.

A 17 year-old slipped into Judge Haley’s courtroom in the Hall of Justice with three guns. A San Quentin inmate was on trial and two other prisoners were witnesses. The 17 year-old immediately armed the prisoners and together they took five hostages: the judge, deputy DA, and three women jurors.

Why? The plan was to take the hostages to a waiting van and trade them for the immediate release of inmates from Soledad Prison (including the 17 year-old’s brother). Months earlier there was a guard killed at Soledad Prison and the incident turned into a national focus on prison conditions and race.

Soon after the Civic Center incident, it would be revealed that the guns were registered to Angela Davis, a young scholar (recently fired from UCLA for Communist ties) and activist who supported the Soledad prisoners. She would later stand trial herself for involvement in the kidnapping and shootout, but was acquitted (the jury found no evidence she knew of the plot).

What happened in the shootout? The gunmen marched the hostages out of the courtroom into the center archway. A massive shootout with the deputies occurred there and right outside the doorway by the waiting van. The judge, the 17 year-old, and two of the inmates died. The Deputy DA was paralyzed. The other inmate stood trial for the crimes, was granted compassionate release in 2023, and died 81 days later.

In another odd twist: the 17 year-old’s brother in prison? He was a Black Panther leader referenced by the party as a “field marshal.” After switching prisons to San Quentin, he was killed in an escape attempt. Love letters were discovered in his cell from the young scholar Angela Davis (who the weapons were registered to).

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Thanks for reading. We will be back with the regular events and activities email Wednesday morning!

— Allison + Brian