Federal prosecutors in Southern California have been forced to drop at least eight felony charges against Los Angeles protesters after it emerged that US immigration officers gave false or misleading statements in their reports. The cases, filed by the Department of Justice during the June 2020 demonstrations, relied on inaccurate testimony from border patrol agents, according to internal documents obtained by the Guardian.
The charges were among 26 filed by the justice department against protesters accused of assaulting or impeding federal officers during unrest over immigration raids. However, prosecutors have since dismissed multiple felonies, with records showing that agents made false statements about the sequence of events and misrepresented incidents captured on video. In one instance, a protester was accused of shoving an officer when footage appeared to show the opposite.
Former federal prosecutors described the rapid dismissals as a significant embarrassment for the Trump-appointed US attorney, Bill Essayli. One indictment even named the wrong defendant, jeopardising a high-profile case. Cristine Soto DeBerry, a former California state prosecutor, said the pattern suggested officers may have filed untruthful affidavits or that prosecutors realised the evidence did not support the charges.
While at least 18 cases remain active, including allegations of throwing bottles and molotov cocktails, the dismissals have affected many protesters who spent time in jail before the charges were dropped. One defendant, Jose Mojica, whose assault case was dismissed, said: 'We are not the violent ones. They are chasing down innocent people.' The justice department has refiled lower-level misdemeanours in six of the dismissed cases.
