“If the prosecution of Felarca, Paz, and Williams proceeds, then Donald Trump will have already achieved one of his central aims: the substitution of authoritarianism for constitutional due process rights and democratic norms,” Cruz wrote. “A policy of naked state discrimination and persecution of racial minorities and left-wing political activists would be a fact and reality. The rule of law would be replaced by tyranny.”

In a response to Cruz’s motion, DA Anne Marie Schubert and Deputy DA Paris Coleman wrote that “every assertion made in defendants’ motion is either inaccurate or fabricated.”

The prosecution questioned why the defendants insisted the DA is only going after anti-fascists, when Planer, a suspected neo-Nazi, is facing a felony charge as well. The DA’s office acknowledged that many additional crimes were committed by people on both sides, but said most were minor.

“In this case, the prosecution chose to focus on those individuals who could be positively identified and were captured on video committing felony offenses,” the document said. Law enforcement is also continuing to try to identify others who committed crimes, and has conducted DNA tests on two bloody knives found on the ground, which Cruz had claimed were ignored, the response said. Cruz’s motion also includes photographs of apparent neo-Nazis holding knives.

Regardless, prosecution wrote, failure to pursue other charges would not disqualify cases against the defendants.

“Their argument is, in effect, that because there are other perpetrators that committed crimes that have not been charged, it is not fair for these defendants to be held accountable for their actions,” the response said. “Even if the extraordinary allegations of bias and collusion posited by the defense in their motion to dismiss were true, and they are not, they would have no bearing on the guilt or innocence of the defendants currently before the court.”

It appears, prosecutors wrote, that the defendants’ motion “was drafted only to satisfy their desire to make a political statement.”

The DA asked for the case to be heard in court, “not through Facebook, YouTube, chanting on street corners, or through the press. The evidence in this case will demonstrate that there were bad actors on all sides of the conflict on the very steps of our State Capital. However, no one is above the law, and no one is beneath the protection of the law, no matter how repugnant his or her rhetoric or misguided his or her ideals,” the response said.

Effects of Sacramento case felt in Berkeley

In the hallway outside the courtroom, waiting with about 30 to 40 others to find out when the hearing would be held, Felarca’s attorney and BAMN leader Shanta Driver said the events in Sacramento had far-reaching consequences.

“If police had acted properly in Sacramento, there would not have been Charlottesville,” said the lawyer, referring to the white-supremacist march in Virginia, where a participant plowed his car into counter-protesters and killed Heather Heyer. “What fascists got away with here emboldened them there,” Driver said.

“If police had acted properly in Sacramento, there would not have been Charlottesville.”

After the hearing was rescheduled, Driver, Felarca and Williams addressed supporters outside, on the sunny courthouse plaza.

“This is gonna set the precedent for this to not happen again,” Williams said. “All these alt-right people, they keep talking about, there’s no more prejudice and there’s no more racism. We’re proving that stuff is very highly real…We’re fighting for everyone, for our children, so you can live in a safer environment.”

He and Felarca thanked the crowd for rallying behind them.

“The reason we’re able to come out here every time, and feel good and confident about coming out here, is because we know there’s a movement that backs us,” Felarca said. “It shows the judge that the whole nation is looking at this. This is a test case.”

The Sacramento case has had implications in Berkeley, where Felarca has also participated in many local protests.

A few months after the Capitol rally, in September 2016, Berkeley Unified placed Felarca on administrative leave. While a petition calling for her to be fired after the Sacramento events garnered hundreds of signatures, supporters of the teacher came to a School Board meeting the next month, demanding Felarca be allowed to teach again, and shutting down the meeting with their protest. She was returned to the classroom shortly after. Later, court records showed Felarca has long had a contentious relationship with her employer.

In February 2017, Felarca appeared on Fox News to defend her views, prompting opponents to flood BUSD phone lines and inboxes with more than 1,000 calls and emails demanding her ouster. In October, conservative group Judicial Watch filed a records request asking for documents and communications referring to the middle school teacher. Felarca has sued BUSD to prevent the district from releasing that information.

A hearing for that case is set for May 15.