Two women have been convicted of stalking a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Los Angeles, following protests last summer. Cynthia Raygoza, 38, and Ashleigh Brown, 38, were found guilty on Friday of one count of stalking after they followed the agent to his home and live-streamed the incident on social media.
The incident occurred on 28 August, when the women followed the agent from a federal building in downtown Los Angeles to his residence, broadcasting his address and encouraging viewers to share the stream. The agent, identified as Rogelio Reyes Huitzilin, told the court he was returning home to meet his wife and two young children when he noticed the women wearing masks.
Upon arriving at the home, the women shouted to bystanders that their “neighbour is ICE” and used racial slurs against the agent’s wife, according to prosecutors. Huitzilin testified that his family lived in fear after the incident, forcing them to move out of the neighbourhood, and that one of his sons requested to be homeschooled while his wife required therapy.
However, under cross-examination, Huitzilin admitted that no other protesters had come to his house after that day and that he had not heard from the women again. The defendants claimed they believed they were following the agent to an ICE raid, not his home.
The women were acquitted of conspiring to publish personal information about a federal employee. A third defendant, Sandra Samane, was acquitted of both counts. The case marks the first conviction of protesters following ICE agents to their homes, a tactic that has become common in Los Angeles.
“We thank the jury for bringing justice to these agitators who violated the law and endangered the safety of this federal officer and his family,” said First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli. “Peaceful protests are protected by the Constitution, political violence and unlawful intimidation are not.” Brown and Raygoza face up to five years in prison and are due to be sentenced on 8 June.
