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The Trump administration has lost or abandoned hundreds of cases in which it accused anti-ICE protesters and migrants of assaulting federal immigration agents, a report said.
An analysis from The New York Times showed that of the 558 people charged, 191 cases were dismissed, and 22 people were acquitted. Only four were convicted after trial, while 246 pleaded guilty and another 95 cases are pending.
The newspaper reported the Justice Department typically has a record of more than 90% of defendants pleading guilty or being convicted at trial. The Trump administration’s strategy in court has been leaning on 18 U.S.C. 111, a statute that makes it a federal crime to assault or forcibly impede a government officer and carries punishments ranging from a fine to 20 years in prison, it added.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department for comment.
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DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis told The New York Times that “it should come as no surprise that there’s an increase in criminal referrals under 18 U.S.C. 111 as there’s been a massive increase in violence and threats against federal law enforcement.”
“Federal prosecutors are correct to prioritize these prosecutions and hold individuals accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” added Justice Department spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle, describing how prosecutors, at times, reduced or dropped charges based on “mitigating factors identified in a case.”
The New York Times cited another Justice Department official as saying that prosecutors in some of the cases dropped charges when the defendants were deported from the United States.
The newspaper said it based its analysis on court filings, hearing transcripts, videos of encounters and interviews with witnesses and federal officials.
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It reported that in dozens of the cases that were lost or abandoned, court records and video showed that federal agents initiated physical struggles, such as shoving, tackling and pepper spraying defendants. Other defendants were able to successfully argue that the assaults they were accused of committing against the federal agents were acts of self-defense, the newspaper added.
Two of the judges overseeing the cases discovered agents purposely destroyed evidence, including demanding that a defendant delete images from their cellphone, according to The New York Times.
Officers also charged more than two dozen people who allegedly filmed or followed agents, sometimes honking car horns or shouting phrases like, “La migra is coming!,” despite no allegations of physical contact with agents, the newspaper reported.
In one case, a judge dismissed assault charges against an immigrant after ruling that the agent involved was cut by glass from a car window that the agent had smashed, and in 65 instances, prosecutors abandoned or dropped charges before deadlines to present evidence to a grand jury or judge, the New York Times also said.
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The report did note one occasion when federal immigration officers were seriously hurt by protesters and migrants, including the dragging of an officer who had his arm inside a car window.
