A Texas district attorney has indicted 141 illegal aliens for participating in the riot, just one day after a judge ruled there was no justifiable cause for the riot.
On April 12, a group of about 300 people reportedly illegally crossed the U.S. border near Riverside High School in El Paso, Texas. Of the 300 people, 142 were said to have broken through a temporary fence made of bellows wire, an act that “constitutes illegal entry into the United States.” statement From the Border Patrol.
They then allegedly had some sort of “encounter” with law enforcement officers during Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. el paso times However, the nature of that “encounter” is unknown.
All 142 people, most of them It is believed that there is The Venezuelan national is currently facing federal charges for illegally entering the United States. But when local prosecutors also wanted to charge Venezuelans with participating in the riot because of their confrontation with law enforcement, El Paso County Judge Ruben Morales questioned the underlying premise. expressed.
“After reviewing the affidavit, I do not believe that to be the case.” [probable cause] “I don’t think there is a legitimate reason for these people to continue to be detained on charges of participating in a riot,” Morales said during Monday’s hearing.
Morales ultimately dismissed 140 of the riot-related lawsuits.
But Morales’ ruling was not legally binding, and on Tuesday, just one day after Morales’ ouster, El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks moved ahead with the indictment anyway, first censuring the grand jury that upheld the indictment. .
“When we brought the extensive case to the grand jury, we presented the entire incident and submitted videotape evidence showing what happened. The grand jury believed there was actually probable cause. Hicks said at a press conference. Press conference on tuesday.
Hicks charged a total of 141 people with participating in the riot. They include all 140 cases dismissed by Judge Morales, as well as individuals facing additional charges of criminal mischief. None of their names have been released. All were reportedly transferred from county jails into ICE custody as part of immigration detention.
In Texas, participating in a riot is a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail or a $2,000 fine, so it was unusual for a grand jury to be impeached in such a case. But Hicks, a Republican, believes trying these cases is important for public safety.
“We believe that people can come to our country and break down barriers and risk their lives and risk their lives to the National Guard.” He said. “…They can’t do that.”
El Paso County Public Defender Kelly Childress, who represents the defendants, sees the cases in a very different light. She called the indictment “horrifying” and suggested there was little basis for it. “They have no witnesses, they have no evidence,” she said. Prosecutors are simply indicting them as “part of” the crime. [a] group,” she claimed.
Hicks countered that individuals who participate in groups that commit crimes should be held accountable, saying, “If you are part of a group that commits a crime, you know that you are part of that group. There should be,” he countered. If the group commits a criminal act, you will be guilty of rioting. ”
Hicks said he plans to offer the defendants a plea deal that includes time served. So far, no one has reportedly accepted this. “They’ll be released to the Border Patrol, some of them will be deported, some of them will be released,” Hicks said after the state charges hearing.
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