Authored by Bryan Hyde via American Greatness,
Three defendants who took part in an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest last year are headed to federal trial on May 18 after a judge denied their motions to dismiss the case.
The defendants were part of a June 2025 protest near an ICE facility in Spokane, Washington, where they allegedly tried to block and damage law enforcement vehicles in response to the detainment of two Venezuelan men.
The protest against the Trump administration’s immigration agenda coincided with demonstrations in Seattle, Portland, and other major cities.
Just the News reportsthat the three defendants are part of a group of nine protestors who were arrested and later indicted by the Trump administration on federal conspiracy charges.
Six of the defendants took plea deals,including former Spokane City Council presidentBen Stuckart, but the remaining three protestors, Jac Archer, Justice Forral, and Bajun Malvalwalla, chose to file amotion to dismiss their chargesas protected free speech.
Malvawalla, a US Army veteran, has alleged that he was assaulted by federal agents during his arrest.
Attorneys for the defendants argued that their clients’ actions were constitutionally protected and challenged the indictment’s sufficiency.
The Dept. of Justice (DOJ) called the motion “meritless” andarguedthat the demonstration went beyond a constitutionally protected protest, alleging that the defendants blocked a transport van from leaving the federal facility, deflated its tires, and piled objects in front of the exits to stop the agents.
According to Just the News, a pretrial conference is scheduled on May 5 and the court will also consider motions that day by acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche seeking to exclude certain defense arguments and evidence at trial.
Source: ZeroHedge News
