Crackdown intensifies as nation charges 150+ immigration protesters

Federal prosecutors have reportedly charged more than 150 anti-immigration enforcement protesters in a northern region with crimes ranging from obstruction of federal agents to religious freedom violations — offenses that allegedly carry penalties from fines to years in prison — as the Justice Department warns that similar conduct will be prosecuted aggressively nationwide.

The response in the region offers a roadmap of sorts for how the Justice Department could move to quash similar protests nationwide and respond to unrest during the current administration’s tenure, observers note.

In the northern state, more than 150 protesters have reportedly been arrested since the start of the administration’s immigration enforcement operation, dubbed “Operation Metro Surge,” including demonstrators who allegedly interrupted a church service, and others who blocked, assaulted, or attempted to otherwise restrict immigration officers in the region. The administration’s response to these protests could prove telling as it moves to deploy federal officers to other regions in the weeks and months ahead, analysts suggest.

These individuals have been charged with religious freedom act violations, conspiracy charges, and obstruction of federal agents, according to copies of criminal complaints and indictments reviewed by sources. Convictions on any of these charges reportedly range from fines to years in prison, in a sign of the administration’s plans to crack down on similar protest tactics in other regions.

“We expect more arrests to come,” the Attorney General said on social media last week.

In fact, individuals need not look much further than indictments the Justice Department has already secured against certain individuals as an indication of the behavior and actions it may seek to prosecute, legal observers note.

The Attorney General last week announced the arrests of 16 regional protesters for “allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement — people who have been resisting and impeding our federal law enforcement agents.” According to a criminal complaint published by the Justice Department, the alleged actions include the use of multiple vehicles to “box in” federal immigration officers; spitting on immigration officers during an arrest; attempting to throw a brick at an immigration officer; and other obstructive and violent actions.

One individual allegedly followed border enforcement agents in his van before approaching their vehicle with a baseball bat in hand.

The Attorney General said the 16 individuals in question have been charged with violating federal statutes that punish any individual who “forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates or interferes” with officials engaged in carrying out their official duties.

Penalties for a conviction on the charge reportedly range from one year in prison to up to 20 years, depending on additional factors — including the involvement of a potentially dangerous weapon and whether bodily injuries were suffered. If additional violations are tacked on, the cases could carry longer sentences, legal experts note.

The Justice Department separately announced charges against nine individuals — including two journalists — last week for allegedly participating in the anti-immigration protest at a religious facility in the regional capital.

The individuals were reportedly seen in video chanting slogans and interrupting the service, according to sources. They were indicted on charges of allegedly conspiring to violate someone’s constitutional rights and religious freedom act violations.

The federal religious freedom act, passed in 1994, is reportedly a law that prohibits the use of force, intimidation, or obstruction to deliberately “injure, intimidate, or interfere” with an individual’s ability to exercise their right to religious freedom at a place of worship.

Religious freedom act violations reportedly carry penalties ranging from fines to prison time, depending on the severity of the violation alleged and other contributing factors.

Senior administration officials have reportedly warned anti-immigration protesters against obstructing or otherwise interfering with federal immigration officers, noting that they would not hesitate to pursue criminal charges against others found to be engaging in illegal behavior.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: NOTHING will stop [the leader] and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law,” the Attorney General said last week.

In addition to the indictments already secured, the Justice Department could reportedly crack down on a wide range of behavior by anti-immigration protesters, including behavior documented by reporters and on social media, such as blocking immigration officer access to certain roadways, demanding that officers share identifying information before entering certain areas, or attempting to surveil, track, or share information about the movements of federal officers with members of the public.

“People need to understand their actions have consequences and that obstruction, assault and impeding are not protected under the disguise of protesting,” the acting director of a federal investigative agency said in a statement.

The warnings come as the northern region has emerged in recent weeks as a flashpoint for immigration protests in response to the administration’s “Operation Metro Surge,” which reportedly saw the deployment of some 3,000 immigration officers to the region.

Tensions there soared to a new fever pitch last month following the fatal shootings of two individuals, who were killed in separate confrontations with federal immigration officers. A senior administration official said Wednesday that the government will remove 700 immigration enforcement officers from the region, though he stressed the reduction is contingent on the lawfulness of anti-immigration protesters. An estimated 2,000 officers will reportedly remain in the region for now.

“Protest but stop impeding, stop interfering, stop violating the law — because we will arrest you,” a senior border enforcement official said Wednesday.