Some misdemeanor charges of those arrested at Spokane’s ICE protest are dismissed due to jurisdiction issue

Some charges against those arrested at Spokane’s immigration enforcement protest that spurred police to deploy smoke cannisters and PepperBalls were dismissed by the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office Tuesday.

The cases were dismissed without prejudice, according to court records, meaning a prosecutor could refile the charges at any point. Spokane County Prosecutor Preston McCollum said his office filed the dismissals because about half of the 30 to 40 arrests were filed in the wrong court jurisdiction.

The protesters should have been booked under city code, but Spokane Sheriff’s Office deputies who transported the arrestees gave them a county incident number.

The protest, sparked by the detainment of two legal immigrants residing in the U.S. through a humanitarian parole program and in the asylum process, led to a standoff with law enforcement on June 11.

Some peacefully protested and disengaged. Some sat in front of a van occupied by Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents and formed a human chain to keep it from leaving. Others clashed with police as they deployed smoke canisters and PepperBalls on those who failed to disperse after law enforcement declared the protest an unlawful assembly.

Police allege the protest became an unlawful assembly because demonstrators were blocking federal agents from leaving their operations base in the Broadview Dairy Building on the 400 block of East Cataldo Avenue, according to previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review.

During the protest, most people who were arrested were booked for failure to disperse, a misdemeanor. Typically, the city prosecutor handles all misdemeanor cases within the city limits in Spokane Municipal Court.

Higher-level criminal charges like felonies tend to land in Spokane County Superior Court no matter if the crime occurred inside or outside city limits. The Spokane County District Court usually handles misdemeanor cases outside of Spokane city limits.

“There is an argument as to whether or not district court has jurisdiction. We and the county discussed what should happen,” Spokane City Prosecutor Justin Bingham said Wednesday.

“Our decision was that they were in the city limits, and we usually prosecute all the cases of misdemeanors within city limits, so they should be moved to review for charging.”

Another issue facing prosecutors is the complexity of the protest. More than 180 Spokane Police officers and more than 50 sheriff’s deputies were present.

“We have also made decision to dismiss without prejudice so we can go through the large number of police reports to determine which defendants we could possibly charge. The reports are voluminous. There are hundreds of hours of body camera footage,” Bingham said. “We are not prepared to go forward at this point because the amount of evidence to review.”

Among those charged with misdemeanors stemming from the protest whose charges were dismissed were former City Council President Ben Stuckart, who initiated the protest on Facebook.

Spokane County Against Racism organizer Justice Forral’s misdemeanor case was dismissed, but he still faces felony cases, including unlawful imprisonment and third-degree assault on a law enforcement officer.

Spokane County Democratic Party Chair Naida Spencer was charged with a misdemeanor in Municipal Court. She is among those whose misdemeanor cases haven’t been dismissed.

Forral wrote in a social media post that in an effort to stand up for immigration rights, they “took action to protect people from harm and stand for the rights of us all.”

“They can scapegoat one person, but they cannot scapegoat the movement for change, and the demand that our human rights be protected,” Forral said.

Stuckart’s lawyer, Joshua Maurer, did not offer comment on Thursday.