Fresno-area school trustee who attended Capitol insurrection won’t be censured. Here’s why

Despite public outcry, the Sierra Unified School District board on Monday declined to censure one of its newest members who filmed himself at the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6.

The small Fresno County mountain community school board held a special meeting to discuss the actions of board member James Hoak and heard from his many supporters and critics.

The board linked six of Hoak’s videos with its online agenda, showing him at the Capitol on Jan. 6. In one video, he told his followers, “This is what it looks like when you storm the Capitol, and it is not burning down yet.”

In another, he sympathized with the Proud Boys, a fascist, white supremacist group that has repeatedly been involved in violent clashes at political rallies.

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.

Over 9,300 people have signed an online petition calling for Hoak’s removal. Trustees said they do not have the authority to remove a board member. It would take a recall to remove Hoak.

Many trustees sympathized with Hoak, saying it was his First Amendment right to be at the Capitol. Some board members seemed only frustrated about the extra time and attention it took to field calls from community members who wished Hoak removed.

However, board president Connie Schlaefer was more critical, saying she believes Hoak should not have been at the Capitol, knowing he also represents the board.

“I feel that when you go past barricades and up scaffolding to be where bad things are happening, which you captured on tape, that’s not the right place to be,” she said, “and so I don’t think that that reflects well on judgment on professionalism. I know that you have your reasons for being there. But to me, they’re not good enough.”

Bryan Martin, the district’s legal counsel, drafted six action items for the board. Depending on what they decided, trustees could deem Hoak’s actions neutral, or they could go so far as to censure him.

The board voted 5-2 to take the second lightest action against Hoak, with only Ben Kimbler and Schlaefer opposing.

The winning resolution read in part: “ ...by all indications, Member Hoak intended his presence there to be as an individual citizen. The video clips reviewed by the Governing Board and available to the public do not show Member Hoak engaging in any violent conduct or vandalism.”

“Although one may be critical of Member Hoak’s language and demeanor as depicted in the various video clips and/or disagree with his apparent political beliefs, his presence at the Capitol was an exercise of his individual rights as a citizen and, thus, should not be the basis for a determination that Member Hoak violated any District or Board standards.”

The resolution directed Hoak to participate in upcoming board training sessions.

“As a result of his actions and the public’s response, Member Hoak has been made cognizant of the visibility and significance of his new role as an elected Board member of the Sierra Unified School District,” the resolution ended, “which entails adherence to heightened ethical standards and the modeling positive adult behaviors for the community and the District’s students.”

Hoak spoke to the public and the board during the meeting.

He said he was never inside the Capitol and never participated in “any other disruption, any other violence that happened there that day, nor could I foresee that happening.”

“Obviously, in hindsight, it wasn’t the best place for me to be,” he continued. “But unfortunately, you know, you don’t know these things are going to happen until they do. Moving forward, I do want to ensure to everybody in the community and on this board that my language and my videos will be suitable for all ages. And maybe I didn’t realize how many people were paying attention, or just the fact that I’m in this seat is bringing extra eyes, so I apologize for that.”

Support for Hoak

Hoak’s father, Jim Hoak, and his daughter, Mia Hoak, spoke in support of their family member during the Zoom meeting.

Jim Hoak said the FBI had spoken with his son “to see if he had any evidence to help them solve ... or arrest other people that were storming the building.”

He called Monday’s meeting “a big waste of time” and said his son only went to the Capitol to film history, not to break-in.

“Yes, he is friends with a couple of the Proud Boys that belong to that group,” Jim Hoak said. “That doesn’t mean that he acts or does things that some ... will say Proud Boys do.”

Some trustees said Hoak might not have gone to the Capitol at all if he had not been new to the board and had training and time to read the bylaws. He was elected in November.

Hoak said he agreed, and he’s already started reading the laws.

“I want to be a better person every day,” he said, “and I think if I had had the bylaws in my possession, by the time I was at the Capitol, maybe I would have been able to read them and be a lot more familiar with them. Instead, I didn’t get them until this January, mid-January.”

Trustee Cortney Burke said she “has a very middle of the road approach to a lot of things” and was disappointed that Hoak took the attention away from what the board should be talking about.

“This has definitely put a bump in moving some of these things forward,” she said. “If there was anything illegal, then action should be taken. If there was a plan to take down the nation, then that’s, you know, a problem. But I don’t think that was what was involved here at all. So I chose to stay as neutral and middle of the road as possible.”

Criticism of Hoak

Many in the community talked about Hoak’s social media platforms, which they said contain racist posts about Black people, and said they would be bearing down on a recall effort.

One parent asked the board to consider more than just Hoak’s presence at the Capitol.

“This is about everything that he has done on social media and the way he has portrayed himself on social media,” she said. “It goes far beyond those videos. This, the Capitol, really just brought it all to a head.”

Two community members alleged Hoak and his friends doxxed them after the last meeting when they spoke out, revealing their personal information and address online. Hoak said he was also doxxed.

Community member Becky Zagha said she was disappointed that the board was taking the situation so lightly.

“To use the excuse of not having the book and read the bylaws to me is a little ridiculous,” she said. “That’s like going into a court of law and saying, ‘Well, I didn’t know that was the law.’ What’s wrong is wrong, what’s right is right.”

After the board’s vote, Hoak said he would respect the bylaws and “work together with everybody on this board to ensure the best outcomes for each and every student in this district.”

“I’m blessed to be a part of this community,” he said, “and I think we all are putting aside our differences to work together for the best interest of our children, is what our mountain strong community needs and deserves going forward.”

This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 7:55 PM.