constitutional right

Federal authorities are now pursuing a misdemeanor charge against David Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union California, who was arrested during the first day of a series of immigration raids that swept the region.

Prosecutors originally brought a felony charge of conspiracy to impede an officer against Huerta, accusing him of obstructing federal authorities from serving a search warrant at a Los Angeles workplace and arresting dozens of undocumented immigrants on June 6.

On Friday, court filings show federal prosecutors filed a lesser charge against Huerta of “obstruction resistance or opposition of a federal officer,” which carries a punishment of up to a year in federal prison. The felony he was charged with previously could have put him behind bars for up to six years.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles declined to comment.

In a statement, Huerta’s attorneys, Abbe David Lowell and Marilyn Bednarski, said they would “seek the speediest trial to vindicate David.” The lawyers said that “in the four months that have passed since David’s arrest, it has become even clearer there were no grounds for charging him and certainly none for the way he was treated.”

“It’s clear that David Huerta is being singled out not for anything he did but for who he is — a life-long workers’ advocate who has been an outspoken critic of its immigration policies. These charges are a clear attempt to silence a leading voice who dared to challenge a cruel, politically driven campaign of fear,” the statement read.

The labor union previously stated that Huerta was detained “while exercising his First Amendment right to observe and document law enforcement activity.” Huerta is one of more than 60 people charged federally in the Central District of California tied to immigration protests and enforcement actions.

Two recent misdemeanor trials against protesters charged with assaulting a federal officer both ended in acquittals. Some protesters have taken plea deals.

In a statement Friday, Huerta said he is “being targeted for exercising my constitutional rights for standing up against an administration that has declared open war on working families, immigrants, and basic human dignity.”

“The baseless charges brought against me are not just about me, they are meant to intimidate anyone who dares to speak out, organize, or demand justice. I will not be silenced,” he said.

Huerta was held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles for days, prompting thousands of union members, activists and supporters to rally for his release. California Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla also sent a letter to the Homeland Security and Justice departments demanding a review of Huerta’s arrest.

A judge ordered Huerta released in June on a $50,000 bond.

The case against Huerta centers on a June 6 workplace immigration raid at Ambiance Apparel. According to the original criminal complaint filed, Huerta arrived at the site around noon Friday, joining several other protesters.

Huerta and other protesters “appeared to be communicating with each other in a concerted effort to disrupt the law enforcement operations,” a federal agent wrote in the complaint.

The agent wrote that Huerta was yelling at and taunting officers and later sat cross-legged in front of a vehicle gate to the location where law enforcement authorities were serving a search warrant.

Huerta also “at various times stood up and paced in front of the gate, effectively preventing law enforcement vehicles from entering or exiting the premises through the gate to execute the search warrant,” the agent wrote in the affidavit.

The agent wrote that they told Huerta that if he kept blocking the Ambiance gate, he would be arrested.

According to the complaint, as a white law enforcement van tried to get through the gate, Huerta stood in its path.

Because Huerta “was being uncooperative, the officer put his hands on HUERTA in an attempt to move him out of the path of the vehicle.”

“I saw HUERTA push back, and in response, the officer pushed HUERTA to the ground,” the agent wrote. “The officer and I then handcuffed HUERTA and arrested him.”

According to a statement from SEIU-United Service Workers West, SEIU California State Council, and the Service Employees International Union, “Huerta was thrown to the ground, tackled, pepper sprayed, and detained by federal agents while exercising his constitutional rights at an ICE raid in Los Angeles.” Video of his arrest went viral.

“Despite David’s harsh treatment at the hands of law enforcement, he is now facing an unjust charge,” the statement read. “This administration has turned the military against our own people, terrorizing entire communities, and even detaining U.S. citizens who are exercising their constitutional rights to speak out.”

Acting U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, posted a photo on the social media site X of Huerta, hands behind his back, after the arrest.

“Let me be clear: I don’t care who you are — if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted,” Essayli wrote. “No one has the right to assault, obstruct, or interfere with federal authorities carrying out their duties.”

In an interview with Sacramento TV news oulet KCRA last month, Essayli referred to Huerta as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “buddy” and said he “deliberately obstructed a search warrant.”

While speaking with reporters in June, Schiff said Huerta was “exercising his lawful right to be present and observe these immigration raids.”

“It’s obviously a very traumatic thing, and now that it looks like the Justice Department wants to try and make an example out of him, it’s all the more traumatic,” Schiff said. “But this is part of the Trump playbook. They selectively use the Justice Department to go after their adversaries. It’s what they do.”

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A man charged with trying to assassinate President Trump last year in South Florida can represent himself during his trial, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon signed off on Ryan Routh’s request but said court-appointed attorneys need to remain as standby counsel. Earlier in the week, the federal public defenders had asked to be taken off the case, saying Routh had refused repeated attempts to meet with them.

Routh said during the hearing that his attorneys were diligent but they didn’t listen to him and were afraid of him.

“How are they supposed to represent me and say I’m not a dangerous person when they don’t believe that?” Routh said.

Routh, 59, is scheduled to stand trial in September, a year after prosecutors say a U.S. Secret Service agent thwarted his attempt to shoot Trump as he played golf. Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.

Reiterating her message from a July 10 hearing, Cannon told Routh that she doesn’t intend to delay the Sept. 8 start date of his trial, even if she lets him represent himself. She also once again told Routh that she believes it’s a bad idea for Routh to represent himself.

Routh, who said he completed two years of college after earning his GED certificate, told Cannon that he understands the potential challenges and would be ready for trial.

Cannon said Thursday that she decided to hold the second hearing after receiving a June 29 letter from Routh that did not arrive at the courthouse until after that hearing. In that letter, Routh said he and his attorneys were “a million miles apart” and that they were refusing to answer his questions. He also wrote that he could be used in a prisoner exchange with Iran, China, North Korea or Russia.

“I could die being of some use and save all this court mess, but no one acts; perhaps you have the power to trade me away,” Routh wrote.

Cannon told Routh that she believed the federal public defenders assigned to Routh’s case were excellent attorneys.

“I find no basis to believe that there has been ineffective assistance of counsel,” Cannon said.

The judge also reminded Routh that she will not be able to assist Routh or provide legal advice during the trial.

Cannon also briefly addressed Routh’s suggestion of a prisoner exchange, saying, “I have no power or any opinion of anything you’ve written there.”

On Wednesday, the federal public defender’s office filed a motion for termination of appointment of counsel, saying “the attorney-client relationship is irreconcilably broken.” Attorneys said Routh has refused six attempts to meet with their team, including a scheduled in-person meeting Tuesday morning at the federal detention center in Miami.

“It is clear that Mr. Routh wishes to represent himself, and he is within his Constitutional rights to make such a demand,” the motion said.

Cannon denied their motion on Thursday, explaining that their office was in the best position to prevent delays to the trial.

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have a right to represent themselves in court proceedings, as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to be defended by an attorney.

Prosecutors have said Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15 at his West Palm Beach country club. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot.

Law enforcement obtained help from a witness who prosecutors said informed officers that he saw a person fleeing. The witness was then flown in a police helicopter to a nearby interstate where Routh was arrested, and the witness confirmed it was the person he had seen, prosecutors have said.

Routh will have his first chance to represent himself on Friday during a scheduled hearing on whether certain evidence and testimony can be used at trial. His former attorneys are expected to be present as standby counsel.

In addition to the federal charges, Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.

Fischer writes for the Associated Press.

Los Angeles school police will set up a safety perimeter around campuses and school events — including graduations — to keep federal immigration agents away from students, employees and families, school officials said Monday.

The announcement by Supt. Alberto Carvalho comes amid widespread immigration raids in Los Angeles — including one on Monday at a Home Depot adjacent to Huntington Park High School — after a weekend of isolated but intense downtown clashes between police and protesters, some of whom set self-driving Waymo cars on fire and threw rocks and fireworks.

The move is among the most notable actions taken by the nation’s second-largest school district, whose leaders said at a news conference Monday that they will deploy their own police force to protect students and their families so they can enjoy in peace the many graduation ceremonies that will unfold this week as the school year concludes Tuesday.

“We stand strongly on the right side of law,” Carvalho said. “Every student in our community, every student across the country, has a constitutional right to a free public education of high quality, without threat. Every one of our students, independently of their immigration status, has a right to a free meal in our schools. Every one of our children, no questions asked, has a right to counseling, social emotional support, mental support.”

President Trump reversed a Biden administration policy that largely exempted schools and other potentially sensitive areas such as churches from immigration enforcement. In recent days, federal agents also have not targeted local schools. But in April federal agents were turned away by staff at two elementary schools.

Carvalho did not rule out the potential for a standoff involving school police if federal officers attempted to enter a school or an off-campus school event — such as a graduation ceremony — without a judicial warrant.

“I think that would be a preposterous condition,” Carvalho said. “But then again, we have seen preposterous actions taken recently by this administration. We are prepared for everything,” Carvalho said, adding that he’s in consultation on contingency plans with L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.

“I have a professional, moral responsibility to protect our kids, protect our workforce, ensure the sanctity, the protection of our buildings and their extension,” Carvalho said. “That means the school buses, the transportation of kids to school and graduation ceremonies. Nothing should interfere with that, and I will put my job on the line to protect a 5-year-old, an 11-year-old, an 11th grader or a soon-to-be graduate.”

But there are limits. Officials acknowledged that they are not legally allowed to interfere if officers arrive with a judicial warrant, which are relatively rare. All school staff — not just the school police — have received training in how to interact with immigration agents, especially to limit their access to campus and children.

Defenders of Trump’s goals counter that public employees should assist in supporting immigration laws against those who are not legally authorized to live in the United States.

For the school system, the immigration furor put a chill on a normally celebratory time — graduation season. The federal actions prompted a detailed, concerned and sometimes furious response from school district leadership.

“As I looked out at the horizon from my office this morning, I saw gray clouds over Los Angeles,” Carvalho said as he opened his remarks. “Those gray clouds could mean a lot of things to a lot of people. I interpreted them as clouds of injustice, clouds of fear, intimidation — clouds that seek to scare the best of us into dark corners.”

About 100 high school graduations and end-of-year culminations were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, with graduation events continuing through June 16.

L.A. school police lack the manpower to encircle every campus and school-event venue, but when officials learn of potential immigration enforcement activity, the plan is to put one patrol car in front of a campus and another in motion around the site.

At graduation ceremonies outdoor lines to enter venues are to be minimized. And families can remain inside for as long as necessary should agents initiate a raid outside or in the neighborhood.

Where possible, a virtual option would be provided for families to watch a graduation ceremony online.

Said Carvalho: “I’ve spoken with parents who’ve told me that their daughter would be the first in their family to graduate high school, and they’re not going to be there to witness it, because they have a fear of the place of graduation being targeted. What nation are we becoming?”

Carvalho said there is confirmation so far of six or seven school district families that have been affected by raids and arrests. In one case, a student was detained with his father and transported from L.A. to Texas. The district has not identified the student or school out of privacy concerns.

A fourth-grader who attends Torrance Elementary — in a neighboring school district — and his 50-year-old father were taken into custody on May 29 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — and will soon be deported, a federal official said.

The father and son entered the U.S. illegally in 2021, according to the federal government.

The superintendent also noted talk of student walkouts. He said that students’ right to protest would be respected but he asked families to urge their children to remain on campus for safety reasons.

Carvalho also advised families to update their contact and emergency information with their school. And families also should prepare backup plans should caregivers be taken into custody.

Summer school starts on June 17 and runs through July 16. Carvalho said more campuses would be opened for classes to minimize travel from home to school and more school-funded transportation would be provided.

District leaders have frequently been circumspect in their words about the Trump administration — critical, to be sure, but somewhat careful. But there was little caution Monday.

School board member Nick Melvoin demanded the removal of the National Guard and compared Trump’s heavy-handed response in Los Angeles to his delay in halting rioters who sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 6, 2021.

Board member Rocio Rivas said there had been raids in the last few days in Boyle Heights, MacArthur Park, Lincoln Heights, Pico Union, Cypress Park, “just to name a few.”

“Our families are now forced to live in fear, looking over their shoulders on the way to school or their child’s graduation. This is just simply wrong. It is also very, very cruel,” Rivas said.

Said board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin: “This isn’t about keeping our community safe. This is about a backwards belief about who belongs and who should be pushed out, locked up and shut up.”

School board President Scott Schmerelson reached for a wider perspective.

“This is supposed to be the happiest time for our kids and their parents, and it’s a very sad time, but we have to remember too our kids have accomplished a lot,” Schmerelson said. “They are graduating and are trying to keep a positive attitude.”