EUGENE, OR – Four individuals cited with second-degree trespass charges have had
their cases dismissed by the Eugene Municipal Court. Three of the four were delivering
food and supplies to unhoused people at the time of citation by Eugene Police. The fourth,
a stroke survivor in her 70s, was living in a tent when she was charged.

“I am dismissing this case because this is justice,” said the judge while dismissing the
unhoused woman’s charge.

Reid Kajikawa, Director of Training at Public Defender Services of Lane County, said in a
public comment that the number of trespass cases involving people sleeping on the
streets has tripled between Jan-May of 2025 compared to the same months in 2024.
Over the past few years, the criminalization of homelessness has escalated to include
people doing outreach. Outreach workers and mutual aid volunteers distributing food and
supplies have increasingly faced trespassing charges, many of which remain active.

One individual charged with trespassing in the second degree while handing out food is
scheduled to go to trial at Eugene Municipal Court on June 11th.

Read more about repression in Mutual Aid:
— Three arrested after protesting inhumane sweeps at a city council meeting in July
2024
— Police threaten Neighbors Feeding Neighbors, a group providing meals at
Washington Jefferson Park