Fresno County school trustee who attended Capitol riot won’t resign. Critics pledge recall

A mountain community school board trustee who was part of the group that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week refused to resign from his position on Monday night, despite calls that he does not deserve to hold the seat.

James Hoak listened quietly during the Zoom meeting of the Sierra Unified School District as parents and community members nearly equally condemned his actions or threw support behind him.

After a parent asked if he would resign, Hoak replied: “I can answer that real quick for you. I will be here until 2024, and I’ll see you at the polls.”

Board member Connie Schlaefer also read a statement after she said the district received “numerous emails all over the last several days.”

“In addition to listening carefully to your comments, we will consult with legal counsel on how we may address the community’s concerns, consistent with our obligations under the law,” she said.

“Although the district supports the rights of freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, it does not condone the violence against our nation’s Capitol, which occurred on January 6, 2021. The district remains committed to instilling in our youth the values of tolerance, equity, fairness, and respect for all in our community and nation.”

More than 2,500 people signed a petition as of Monday, calling for the recall of Hoak if he did not resign. Several people at the meeting called Hoak a white supremacist and domestic terrorist.

“He made the very public decision to (live stream) himself and his actions on that day,” said parent Jessica Hudson, “therefore inviting public scrutiny as to his fitness to serve the community and our children.”

Several parents pointed out now-deleted racist content posted from Hoak’s social media account.

“I think he’s very proud of what he did, and he doesn’t think that there’s anything wrong with it,” said parent Erin Wick before the meeting. “He’s openly and publicly posted, prior to this, very racist comments on his social media page.”

Hoak’s father, Jim Hoak, said his son went to Washington D.C. to document what was happening.

“It’s just shocking to hear what people say about my son,” he said. “It hurts me.”

James Hoak didn’t immediately respond to the allegations of racism.

Parent Elizabeth Taylor said wanting Hoak removed was not political.

“This is about facts and an examination of those facts regarding a public school board member attending a riot that resulted in the death of five people in the storming of a Capitol,” she said. “This is about the standard of ethics that we hold our elected officials to.”

Taylor said African American students had to see their school board member rally around a Confederate flag.

“When I was a child, my parents taught me that if I was in a group of friends that were breaking a law, it didn’t matter if I didn’t pull the trigger, was I there?” she said. “Did I support or condone it? And most of all, did I walk away? Did James Hoak walk away?”

One parent said she was proud of Hoak’s presence at the Capitol, and that he was not racist.

“I’m proud that he’s showing our kids to stand up for their rights and to stand up for what they believe in,” she said. “People voted him in knowing that he is a strong (President Donald) Trump supporter they voted him in knowing how he is, what he stands for, what he supports.”

Sally Hoskins pushed back on allegations of racism about her nephew-in-law, whom she called by his nickname, “Jimbo.”

“I’m just really tired of people calling white people racist just because they don’t know what else to say,” she said during the meeting. “I was there to have a peaceful protest against election fraud.”

“I know it doesn’t matter to Jimbo what the color of your skin is — one of his best friends is Black. I’m gonna tell you, there were like a million people at that rally. It was huge. Jimbo is not responsible for the unlawful actions of a couple hundred.”

James Hoak in Washington DC

Hoak won his seat on the Sierra Unified board in November and was recently sworn in.

Hoak said he was in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday as a member of the media to attend the rally in support of Trump.

Hoak told The Bee on Thursday that he stayed on the balcony while the Capitol building was being breached.

“I don’t condone breaking and entering,” Hoak said then. “I don’t condone breaking into any building.”

In now-deleted videos livestreamed from the Capitol on Wednesday, Hoak told his followers, “This is what it looks like when you storm the Capitol, and it is not burning down yet.”

In May, Hoak was among the group that confronted Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias at his home regarding business closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hoak has posted videos to various channels with right-wing Frontline America, run by Ben Bergquam.

This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 9:01 PM.