US drops charges against LA protester accused of assaulting officers: ‘A huge relief'
US attorney Bill Essayli, a Donald Trump appointee, filed a motion on Wednesday to dismiss a complaint against Jose Manuel Mojica, a 30-year-old Los Angeles resident who was present at one of the first major protests of immigration raids in southern California this month. Mojica, a father of four born in LA, came forward last week to the Guardian, which published footage of his arrest by a group of officers.
Mojica, who strongly rejected the charges, was facing eight years in federal prison over the 7 June arrest, which left him injured.
'I feel a huge relief,' Mojica said on Thursday. He had spent two nights in jail and has been forced to wear an ankle monitor for nearly two weeks.
'They knew they were in the wrong and they didn't want to face the court. The truth is always going to come out in the end.'
Mojica was one of nine people arrested and charged with federal crimes in a first round of charges that the Trump administration highlighted as evidence of violence by protesters.
On Wednesday, US prosecutors also moved to dismiss the charges against a second protester who was arrested at the same time as Mojica and who was seen on footage being shoved by a federal agent.
Civil rights advocates and defense attorneys who analyzed the Department of Justice's criminal complaints and footage of the incidents have scrutinized the prosecutions, arguing that in some cases authorities were misrepresenting events, going after people who were themselves injured by officers and criminalizing free speech.
The US attorney's office and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday about the dismissal of charges.
After hearing reports of Ice indiscriminately targeting workers and neighbors in his predominantly Latino community, Mojica said he went to the demonstration in Paramount, in southern LA county near his home. He had not participated in protests since marching with his father as a child, but after seeing how Ice caused widespread fear and panic in the region, and as a US citizen, he wanted to support the rally.
Mojica, who works at warehouses in the region unloading shipping containers, said the situation escalated when increasing numbers of heavily armed agents arrived.
Grainy cellphone footage, including video taken by his spouse, captured the moment when he was arrested in a chaotic scuffle. While some demonstrators shouted at officers, one agent was seen forcefully shoving a protester standing near Mojica. The videos did not clearly show what happened next, but Mojica said he was trying to de-escalate the situation and stop the protester who was shoved from retaliating. A crowd of officers then quickly took them both to the ground.
'I thought I was going to die at that moment and never get up from the ground and see my kids again,' Mojica said last week. 'I couldn't breathe.'
He said officers held him in a chokehold and pushed him into the pavement, causing a large contusion on his nose and bruises all over his body – some of which were visible four days later.
At one point during his arrest and transport, an officer told him he could be facing 20 years in prison, he recalled.
Mojica, who had no criminal record, was charged alongside three other co-defendants he said he didn't know. A criminal affidavit included few details about Mojica but alleged he 'elbowed and pushed' border patrol agents and 'physically made an attempt to thwart [the other protester's] arrest'.
Prosecutors' two-page filing to dismiss Mojica's case provided no details on the decision, but said the request was 'made in good faith and in the interest of justice'. A judge still has to sign the order.
'Based on the video, I knew my client did nothing wrong,' Meghan Blanco, Mojica's attorney and a former federal prosecutor, said on Thursday.
'There was no scenario that I could see this case moving forward in a manner that would have been helpful to the government. Once they had an opportunity to look at the video themselves, I think they very quickly came to the same conclusion.'
Blanco, who previously prosecuted use-of-force cases against federal agents, said Mojica's case was not unique.
'I'm hopeful this is just the first of many [dismissals] for protesters who were charged with violating the law simply based on the fact that they were protesting and exercising their constitutional rights, not because they were being violent or doing anything illegal,' Blanco said.
The impacts of the prosecution have been significant, she noted. Essayli, the US attorney, earlier posted Mojica's photo and name on X, formerly Twitter, announcing his arrest and saying the government would 'continue to arrest anyone who interferes with federal law enforcement'. The post led to widespread comments calling for Mojica, a US citizen, to be deported.
Mojica said he had been suffering flashbacks from his arrest and was still struggling with pain in his back and ribs from his injuries, in addition to having difficulty sleeping.
'I want people to know they are not alone, there are a lot of people on our side, and they know how the officers treat people,' he said.
'And if people know they are innocent, they should keep fighting and don't be intimidated.'
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