‘A dangerous embarrassment’: Feds caught lying as ‘assault’ charges against LA protesters crumble

The United States Department of Justice has had to drop multiple felony charges against immigration protesters in Los Angeles after federal law enforcement records revealed a pattern of false and misleading statements from federal agents. These major dismissals raise serious concerns about the accuracy of the original reports that led to arrests during the widespread protests in June.

At least eight felony cases, many of which were based on incorrect statements from officers, have been dismissed by prosecutors. Beyond protest-related charges, the Justice Department has also dropped at least three felony assault cases against people in Los Angeles who were accused of interfering with recent immigration raids. This quick series of felony dismissals shows how poorly the U.S. attorney for southern California, who was appointed by former President Trump, is handling things.

According to The Guardian, a review of records shows that out of nine “assault” and “impeding” felony cases first brought by the Justice Department right after the protests, and publicly emphasized by the attorney general, seven were dropped soon after charges were filed. Additionally, in reports that led to the arrest and prosecution of at least five demonstrators, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents gave incorrect accounts of events and misrepresented incidents, some of which were recorded on video.

Feds are caught in lies and mistakes regarding arrests

One example of a blatant lie by DHS agents is that one agent accused a protester of shoving an officer, but video footage seemed to show the officer shoving the protester instead. In another shocking mistake, a formal indictment named the wrong person, damaging one of the government’s most high-profile cases.

It makes you question ICE’s claim that its assaults have risen. This is the same department that had an agent roughly handle a U.S. citizen who was pregnant and couldn’t fight back. ergio Perez, a former justice department lawyer who is now executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law said, “this is an extraordinary mistake and a dangerous embarrassment,” thanks to how this will drop the trust of law enforcement.

These dismissals have major consequences. Former federal prosecutors say that dropping felony charges so quickly suggests either that federal officers submitted false statements that were later exposed or that U.S. attorneys reviewed the evidence and decided it did not support the charges. One former California state prosecutor said that filing and then quickly dismissing multiple felonies is unusual and might be a strategy to detain people, create fear, and discourage citizens from exercising their constitutional right to free speech.

While at least 18 cases against LA protesters are still active, covering a range of alleged crimes, some defendants have taken plea deals. Others still facing charges are accused of actions like throwing bottles or Molotov cocktails, pointing a laser at a helicopter, and handing out gas masks to help in civil unrest. In six cases where felonies were dismissed, lower-level misdemeanors were later filed against the defendants.

For many protesters whose charges were dropped or reduced, the original accusations and later legal actions deeply affected their lives. Everyone who had their cases dismissed spent time in jail before the government’s cases fell apart.