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U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino — the brash agent who led a phalanx of military personnel into MacArthur Park this summer — was called as a witness Wednesday in a misdemeanor assault case against a protester, who allegedly struck a federal agent.

Bovino, one of the faces of President Trump’s immigration crackdown that began in Los Angeles and is now underway in Chicago, took the stand to testify that he witnessed an assault committed by Brayan Ramos-Brito in Paramount on June 7.

Outfitted in his green Border Patrol uniform, Bovino testified that he witnessed Ramos-Brito drag his arm back and strike an agent with an open palm in the chest.

The incident occurred during a skirmish outside a federal building between federal law enforcement agents and locals frustrated by Trump’s immigration policies.

On a cross-examination, federal public defender Cuauhtemoc Ortega questioned Bovino about being the subject of a misconduct investigation a few years ago and receiving a reprimand for referring to undocumented immigrants as “scum, filth and trash.”

Bovino denied referring to undocumented immigrants that way and said he was referring to “a specific criminal illegal alien” — a Honduran national who he said had raped a child and reentered the United States and had been caught at or near the Baton Rouge Border Patrol station.

“I said that about a specific individual, not about undocumented peoples, that’s not correct,” he said.

Ortega pushed back, reading from the reprimand, which Bovino signed, stating that he was describing “illegal aliens.”

“They did not say one illegal alien,” Ortega said. “They said you describing illegal aliens, and or criminals, as scum, trash and filth is misconduct. Isn’t that correct?”

“The report states that,” Bovino said.

Ortega said that Bovino was warned if he committed any instance of misconduct again, “you could be fired.”

More than 40 people have been charged with a range of federal offenses, including assaulting officers and interfering with immigration enforcement, at either downtown protests or the scene of immigration raids throughout the region this summer, the U.S. attorney’s office in L.A. said this week.

Ramos-Brito’s case is the first to go to trial.

The case centers around a protest outside the Paramount Business Center, across the street from Home Depot.

Already tensions were high, with federal officials raiding a retail and distribution warehouse in downtown L.A. in early June, arresting dozens of workers and a top union official.

At the Paramount complex, which houses Homeland Security Investigation offices, protesters began arriving around 10 a.m on June 7. Among them was Ramos-Brito.

Several videos played in court Tuesday showed Ramos-Brito and another man cursing at Border Patrol agents and stepping inches from their faces with balled fists. At one point, Ramos-Brito approached multiple Border Patrol agents who appeared to be Latino and said “you’re a f—ing disgrace if you’re Mexican.”

Asst. U.S. Atty. Patrick Kibbe said that while many protesters were “passionately” demonstrating, Ramos-Brito crossed a line by striking U.S. Border Patrol Agent Jonathan Morales.

“There’s a constitutional right to protest peacefully. It is a crime to hit a federal officer,” Kibbe said.

Federal public defender M. Bo Griffith, however, said Ramos-Brito was the victim of an assault, not the other way around.

Both social media and body-worn camera footage played in court clearly show Morales shove Ramos-Brito first, sending him flying backward into the busy intersection of Alondra Blvd. While footage shows Morales marching back toward the agent with his fists balled, no angle clearly captures the alleged assault.

Aside from Morales, three other agents took the stand Tuesday, but none said they saw Ramos-Brito hit Morales. None of the agents who testified were outfitted with body-worn cameras that day, according to Border Patrol Asst. Chief Jorge Rivera-Navarro, who serves as chief of staff for “Operation At Large” in Los Angeles.

Some of the Border Patrol agents swarming L.A. in recent months come from stations that don’t normally wear body-worn cameras, according to Navarro. He testified that he has since issued an order that led to cameras being distributed to agents working in L.A.

The clash that led to the assault charge started when Ramos-Brito stepped to U.S. Border Patrol Agent Eduardo Mejorado, who said he repeatedly asked Ramos-Brito to move to the sidewalk as the protest was blocking traffic. Video shows Mejorado place his hand on Ramos-Brito’s shoulder twice, and the defendant swatting it away.

At that point, Morales, a 24-year veteran of the Border Patrol, said he thought he needed to step in and de-escalate the situation between his fellow agent and Ramos-Brito. He did so by shoving Ramos-Brito backward into the intersection, according to video played in court. Morales said Ramos-Brito then charged at him while cursing and threw a punch at the upper part of his chest and throat.

On cross-examination, Griffith confronted Morales and Mejorado with inconsistencies between descriptions of the event they previously gave to a Homeland Security Investigations officer and their testimony in court. It was not the first time such a discrepancy affected the case.

Federal prosecutors previously dropped charges against Jose Mojica, another protester who was arrested alongside Ramos-Brito, after video footage called into question the testimony of an immigration enforcement agent.

According to an investigation summary of Mojica’s arrest previously reviewed by The Times, Mejorado claimed a man was screaming in his face that he was going to “shoot him,” then punched him at the Paramount protest. The officer said he and other agents started chasing the man, but were “stopped by two other males,” later identified as Mojica and Ramos-Brito.

Video played in court Tuesday and previously reported by The Times shows that sequence of events did not happen. Ramos-Brito and Mojica were arrested in a dogpile of agents after Ramos-Brito allegedly struck Mojica. There was no chase.

Questioned about Mojica’s case in July, a Homeland Security spokesperson said they were unable to comment on cases “under active litigation.”

Defense attorneys said Ramos-Brito sustained multiple contusions on his face, neck and back and had cuts and scrapes on his body from being dragged across the pavement later.

According to his attorneys, Ramos-Brito’s only prior interaction with law enforcement was for driving without a license.

The case could prove to be a bellwether for other immigration protest charges filed by Acting U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli in a region where many potential jurors have negative views of immigration enforcement, or may be immigrants themselves.

On Tuesday morning, U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson had to remove 21 potential jurors from the pool, several of whom said they could not be impartial due to their views on immigration policy.

Many of the potential jurors said they were first or second generation immigrants from the Philippines, Colombia, Bulgaria, Jamaica and Canada.

“I believe that immigrants are part of this country and I’m kind of partial with the defendant,” said one man, a landscaper from Lancaster.

From his seat inside Allegiant Stadium last weekend, Jorge Morales surrounded himself with the UCLA football gameday essentials.

Pizza. Beer. The Bruins’ roster pulled up on his cellphone.

During the game’s first series, the lifelong fan saw No. 15 on the UCLA defense surge into the Nevada Las Vegas backfield. Morales wondered about the identity of this fast, feisty edge rusher and looked him up. It was Anthony Jones, a transfer from Michigan State.

Later, Morales watched No. 3 in coverage and commenced another search. It was defensive back Robert Stafford III, a transfer from Miami (Fla.).

UNLV’s Var’Keyes Gumms (30) stiff arms UCLA’s Cole Martin (21) while scoring a receiving touchdown at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday in Las Vegas, Nev.

(Ian Maule / Getty Images)

Curious about the starting offensive linemen, Morales went back to his phone once more. He discovered a group that included three new starters in left tackle Courtland Ford and guards Eugene Brooks and Julian Armella — all transfers.

“I didn’t recognize any of the numbers,” Morales said.

Similar bewilderment was playing out in the San Diego living room of Ted Zeigler. Watching the game on his 65-inch television, the self-described hardcore Bruins fan also had the roster pulled up on his phone for ready reference, alternating between one screen and the other.

“This adds another dimension to watching the game that I wasn’t looking for,” Zeigler said. “I just feel disinterested.”

It’s hard to be a UCLA fan these days for reasons that go beyond the team’s 0-2 record. Few recognize more than a handful of names on a roster laden with 57 new players, including 37 transfers in their first season with the team.

The days of starting lineups rife with Bruins who have been in the program for two or three years may have gone the way of New Year’s Day bowl appearances for a team stuck in a decade-long funk.

All the new faces are a function of unlimited transfers in college football — Jones is attending his fourth college in as many years, after previous stops at Michigan State, Indiana and Oregon — and a need to restock the roster after the Bruins lost every starter on defense and seven on offense.

UCLA is hardly the only team experiencing such massive turnover, though that disclaimer has done little to lessen the growing detachment some fans feel watching a team only recognizable because of its uniforms.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava looks to pass during a game against UNLV at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday in Las Vegas, Nev.

(Ian Maule / Getty Images)

“College football’s changed,” Bruins coach DeShaun Foster said. “It’s not the same game it was when I played, it’s not the same game that it was when I started coaching and it’s evolving every day, basically.”

For Foster’s team, those changes have involved a curious lack of marketing of newcomers who presumably want to build their brands in an era when they are paid for their name, image and likeness.

From the start of training camp, Foster severely restricted media access. Reporters were allowed to observe stretching, individual drills and a handful of plays involving the offense facing the defense — and even those glimpses of team periods have been eliminated in recent weeks. Requests for feature story interviews involving players and a staff including eight new assistant coaches have largely been not just denied but ignored.

“It’s tough,” Foster said when asked about granting interviews for human-interest stories, “but we’re trying to win games.”

So where does that leave the fans? Some say they’re watching as much out of habit as interest, especially since they know so little about the team they have long loved.

“Foster shielding the media from camp and everything,” said Vic Deverian, a UCLA graduate and longtime season ticket-holder, “you didn’t get a chance to know who the players were, who looked good in practice — you didn’t know any of that stuff. So it’s kind of like going on a lot of blind dates — it’s like, I don’t know who you are but this is where I’m supposed to be on Saturday and I’m going to watch UCLA, but I don’t recognize these players at all.”

Among the new players Deverian has developed a fondness for in the season’s early going are slot receiver Mikey Matthews, quarterback Nico Iamaleava and running back Anthony Woods.

“He’s a talented running back,” Deverian said of Woods, who arrived at UCLA after previous stops at Utah and Idaho. “He needs to get the ball more.”

Utah linebacker Trey Reynolds (37) intercepts the ball as UCLA receiver Kwazi Gilmer (3) tries to stop him on Aug. 31 at the Rose Bowl.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

But how many of the new players will make more than a cameo appearance as Bruins? Iamaleava said in July that he hoped to head to the NFL after this season and as many as 33 players will have exhausted their eligibility by season’s end, possibly leading to another large group of transfers.

Foster said he didn’t want to dip so heavily into the transfer portal in future seasons, which would require extensive player retention and success in high school recruiting.

“If you can get guys and develop them, then they understand your culture, you know?” Foster said. “But when you’re getting new guys and you don’t have them for as long as you would like, they’re still learning the culture, you know?”

Longtime fan and UCLA graduate Travis Fuller said he felt especially close to the team growing up watching stars such as Cade McNown, Marcedes Lewis and Drew Olson because they spent multiple years in blue and gold, developing into widely known personalities.

Now, a high turnover rate is compounded by a lack of success for a program that hasn’t won much since coach Jim Mora guided the Bruins to a 10-3 season in 2014 while setting attendance records at the Rose Bowl.

Contrast that with what could be a record-low crowd Friday night when UCLA faces New Mexico (1-1) at the Rose Bowl given the confluence of weekday traffic, an opponent from the Mountain West Conference and a winless, largely anonymous batch of Bruins.

Lifelong fan Scott Detki, who acknowledged feeling more detached from the Bruins than usual, said he would be driven to learn about a successful team.

“I would be more attached if the team was actually winning,” Detki said, “because that would inspire me to be like, ‘Oh, who’s this guy? Where did he come from?’ It almost leads to more questions on what their story was.”

Then again, maybe there’s an upside to all of this unfamiliarity. As the Bruins fell behind by 23 points against UNLV last weekend, Morales found some comfort in knowing so little about his favorite team.

“It maybe made it a little easier to watch because I couldn’t get mad at any of the players,” Morales said with a laugh. “I don’t know who’s who, so I don’t know who I’m upset with.”

WEST SACRAMENTO — Luis Morales struck out five in his second career start, Brent Rooker and Colby Thomas hit home runs, and the Athletics beat the Angels 7-2 on Saturday night.

Morales (1-0) threw five innings and gave up one run, walking two, in his third career appearance. He has surrendered two runs in 9⅔ innings since his Aug. 1 call-up.

Thomas’ two-run homer, his third of the year, put the A’s on the board in the first inning.

Darell Hernaiz drove in two on a third-inning single, and Rooker padded the A’s lead with his solo homer in the fifth.

Brett Harris and Rooker added insurance in the eighth with RBI singles. Sean Newcomb threw 1⅔ innings and struck out three to earn his first save of the year.

Nolan Schanuel had three hits, and Angels’ starter Tyler Anderson (2-8) yielded four earned runs, three hits, and issued five walks in the loss.

The A’s have won six of their last 10 games, while the Angels have lost six of their last 10.

Morales walked the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the first, but worked his way out of the jam with no runs scored. He only allowed one more runner to reach scoring position for the rest of his outing.

The Israeli occupation army is grappling with a crisis in morale, which has been described as a “ticking time bomb” by local media, following the decision to extend compulsory military service by four months. This comes amidst ongoing operations in Gaza and rising tensions with Lebanon.

According to media reports, the order has sparked widespread discontent among soldiers who have been engaged in combat for over a year and a half. Many express feelings of exhaustion, exploitation and a loss of trust in both the state and military leadership. “Morale is at rock bottom… fighters are trying to escape combat positions for other roles,” an officer stated.

Soldiers reported being taken by surprise when informed of the extension of their service without prior notice. Sergeant Major Rishon A. from the Nahal Brigade, who was scheduled to be discharged last week, said he was notified the day before his discharge about an additional four-month service extension. He added: “The state is exploiting us mercilessly… I feel my personal life means nothing to them.”

Rishon noted that the new salary of 8,000 shekels ($2,205) does not compensate for the frustration: “I could earn this amount as a waiter, but I would prefer to wake up every morning free, not conscripted by force.”

Other soldiers highlighted a severe shortage of combat troops within the army, leading them to undertake non-combat tasks such as working in kitchens, which they view as evidence of the military’s inability to perform its core duties.

Sergeant S., a 14-month veteran in an armoured unit, expressed feelings of frustration, stating: “If I leave, who will fill my place? No one. We’re stuck.”

Additionally, soldiers expressed dissatisfaction with the continued full exemption of Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) from military service, considering it “a grave injustice”, which has intensified feelings of discrimination and eroded trust in the state.

Senior officers confirmed that the decision to extend service has caused significant harm to the army’s combat spirit and willingness to continue serving, particularly in combat units. One officer explained that the directive was implemented unfairly across units, leading to deep frustration among soldiers.

Report: Majority of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews refuse army service