Federal government accuses nine Spokane protesters of violence against ICE

Federal prosecutors are accusing nine protesters of crossing the line into violence against federal agents during a chaotic mass demonstration in Spokane over the detainment of two young asylum seekers.

Some leaders , including U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown, are instead pointing the finger at the federal government for carrying out intimidation tactics to enforce the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown.

FBI agents on Tuesday morning arrested and searched the home of at least one of multiple people who took part in the protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Spokane.

Among those arrested was former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart, who is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure law enforcement, according to court records.

The grand jury indictment filed July 9 in U.S. District Court Eastern District of Washington alleges Stuckart, Justice Forral, Mikki Hatfield, Erin Lang, Collin Muncey, Thalia Ramirez, Bobbi Silva, Bajun Mavalwalla II and Jac Archer used “force and threats” against federal agents to “impede” the transport of federal detainees to their immigration hearings in Tacoma and to “coerce the release” of the detainees.

“We respect and honor everyone’s right to peacefully protest,” Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie Van Marter said in a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. “However, the few who choose to cross the line from protest to violence and destruction will be held accountable.”

Murray sees it differently. She called the federal charges a “gross abuse of federal resources.”

“The Trump administration is abusing the force of the law to intimidate Americans exercising their First Amendment rights – whether you are a Democrat or Republican, this is wrong and we all need to speak out against this disturbing perversion of justice,” she said in a prepared statement. “If you are as angry as I am about Trump’s unconstitutional and cruel assault on immigrants, we need to speak out peacefully against inhumane policies. We lose our democracy when our voices fall silent.”

Stuckart sparked the protest that swelled to hundreds of people that day by posting a call to action on Facebook after ICE agents detained two young men who had appeared at ICE offices for a check-in.

Archer posted on social media a call for others to come and join, noting the intent was to “risk arrest to block the exits to ICE,” according to the indictment.

The indictment alleges Stuckart blocked a transport bus carrying the two immigrants. Archer, Stuckart and others blocked the pathway and door to the transport bus despite orders to disperse, the indictment says.

Stuckart and most of those who were arrested June 11 for blocking the bus did not resist arrest.

Silva struck a federal officer from behind as the officer tried to clear the pathway for transport vehicles to leave ICE’s local Spokane operations building at 411 W. Cataldo Ave., the indictment alleges. Hatfield is accused of throwing a “deployed incendiary device” at Spokane police officers and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

The two men Stuckart was advocating for at the time are legal immigrants residing in the United States through a humanitarian parole program and were going through the asylum process, according to previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review. They were picked up at a routine immigration check-in that day when authorities detained them and took them to the detention center in Tacoma.

Also arrested Tuesday morning was Bajun Mavalwalla. Many of the defendants, including Mavalwalla, blocked the driveway of the facility while federal officers tried to leave, the government alleges.

As he and his girlfriend were moving out of their shared home into another house Tuesday when the FBI knocked on their door at 6 a.m., said Mavalwalla’s father, Bajun Mavalwalla Sr.

“I demanded a warrant, they refused and wouldn’t show it until everyone left the home. My son was protesting on June 11, they said he assaulted officers,” Mavalwalla Sr. said. “My son worked in cybersecurity and was deployed to Afghanistan. He has no problems with the law.”

Mavalwalla Sr. said to his knowledge, officers never read his son his rights. An officer indicated he would read the Miranda rights when he questioned Mavalwalla, according to a video of the arrest.

Authorities searched the shared home where they took Bajun Mavalwalla’s phone and the clothes he was wearing at the time of the protest. According to a signed warrant by U.S. Magistrate Judge James Goeke, agents were to ordered to seize his clothes, his phone and any “personal items or effects” worn or carried by Mavawalla that day. The agents were relatively polite during the search, Mavalwalla Sr. said.

“This is a scare tactic,” Mavawalla Sr. said. “This is what they’re doing now.”

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown condemned the arrests later Tuesday morning.

“This politically motivated action is a perversion of our justice system,” she said in a statement Tuesday morning. “The Trump Administration’s weaponization of ICE and the DOJ is trampling on the U.S. Constitution and creating widespread fear across our community.”

Spokane City Councilmember Paul Dillon issued a statement shortly after, calling the arrests “another reminder of the pain, fear and chaos by the Trump Administration.”

“I will advocate for charges to be dropped and the two young men who were detained on June 11th in violation of their due process to be released. If it’s in the courts or with policy or in the streets, we must come together to defend and stand for the rights of people in Spokane,” Dillon said. “We must be the city that welcomes all.”

Justice Forral, an organizer for Spokane County Against Racism, was also arrested. Forral already faces state felony charges of unlawful imprisonment and third-degree assault on an officer stemming from the protest.

The indictment alleges Forral intentionally parked his vehicle to block the path of the transport bus and “preclude its movement.” Forral and Lang also released the air from the tires of the bus, according to the indictment. “Other co-conspirators” painted the windshield of the bus.

Forral, Muncey, Hatfield and others placed trash cans, sand/cement bags, benches, signs and other objects in front of the ingresses and egresses to block the exit, prosecutors say in the indictment.

Stuckart, Hatfield, Lang, Silva and others surrounded and blocked a transport van which Spokane police officers had placed patrol cars in front of and behind, according to the indictment. Ramirez is accused of using a boxcutter to slash the tires of the van.

Tuesday’s first appearances

The nine defendants appeared in groups of three during Tuesday’s first appearances at the federal courthouse in front of Goeke, who presided via video call. Seven defendants were released pending further proceedings, while two defendants – Silva and Hatfield – were ordered to remain in custody until a detention hearing set for 10 a.m. Friday. Government prosecutors said in the hearing they believed Silva and Hatfield were “a danger” and pose a “serious risk” to justice. Both are additionally charged with assault on a federal officer.

The request for a detention hearing is partly because Hatfield threw a smoke canister back at police when they deployed it into the crowd, the government alleged, calling it “a dangerous weapon.”

“There is a reason that law enforcement throw them at the feet of protesters,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Cartier-Giroux.

David Partovi, representing Hatfield, doesn’t think “the government has a right to a detention hearing” because he doesn’t believe Hatfield is a danger to the community for the sole reason of allegedly throwing a smoke canister at law enforcement, he told Goeke in court.

Carter Powers-Beggs, only temporarily representing Silva, said she had a child at home during the time of her arrest and that Silva is extremely concerned about their wellbeing while she’s not at home. Powers-Beggs rested his hand on Silva’s back as she cried in front of the judge.

“She wants to be released to take care of the child,” he said as Silva wept. The child was turned over to an 18-year-old who is participating in frequent Child Protective Services check-ins, Cartier-Giroux said Tuesday.

Stuckart, who was released Tuesday evening, must turn over his passport and notify authorities if he plans to take trips out of state. Stuckart’s attorney noted he may be traveling to Tacoma to attend a Thursday immigration hearing of the two men taken by ICE, which the judge allowed as part of his release conditions.

Stuckart was one of the men’s “sponsors” in the U.S. as they navigated the asylum process. Cesar Alexander Alvarez Perez, 21, and Joswar Slater Rodriguez Torres, 28, are both still in Tacoma as they fight for their release.

Stuckart told The Spokesman-Review via email earlier this week that Rodriguez-Torres has a “master hearing” or a first appearance on Thursday, while Alvarez-Perez’s first hearing is set for October.

“I think we will have a clearer picture after that hearing. The risk of the hearing is they put him on expedited deportation,” Stuckart wrote.

The other seven defendants also have similar release requirements, which include appearing at every court hearing, abstaining from any illegal activity and must keep 200 feet away from the federal U.S. Homeland Security office the protest took place at. They are also prohibited from contacting other co-defendants about the case unless lawyers are present.

Jeffry Finer, who is representing Jac Archer, called the no contact order an “egregious misuse of power” in a city “this size” in court Tuesday, especially given the potential penalties for violating it, he said.

The bail rules include a large penalty for misconduct during release: Up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Reporter Caroline Saint James contributed to this story. This story was updated July 17 to change the title of a fact box.