One man threw chunks of cinderblock at a border patrol agent. Another poured two bottles of lighter fluid on a police car. Another threw a large rock that hit an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in the head, then used a stop sign as a battering ram against the door of an ICE building. Another attempted to murder a police officer at an immigration detention center.
Recent sentencings and convictions in a series of criminal cases in a variety of jurisdictions nationwide provide details of what federal officials describe as a violent attempt to undermine the rule of law. It’s one thing to have a different view of immigration enforcement or policy than the Trump administration; that’s what elections and peaceful advocacy are all about. It’s another thing to try to obstruct the enforcement by using violence against government employees.
Among the recent criminal sentencings and convictions:
— Jacob Daniel Terrazas, 31, of Paramount, Calif., was sentenced July 22 to ten months in federal prison "for throwing chunks of cinderblock at Border Patrol agents and injuring one of them during a protest that turned violent," according to a Justice Department press release. Terrazas pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of simple assault on a federal officer.
— Yachua Mauricio Flores, 23, a Mexican illegal immigrant living in Los Angeles, was sentenced August 3 to 37 months in federal prison "for pouring two bottles of lighter fluid onto a burning California Highway Patrol (CHP) vehicle and throwing an electric scooter over a freeway overpass near officers during an anti‑immigration law enforcement riot in a downtown Los Angeles," according to a Justice Department press release.
— Ismael Vega, 42, from Los Angeles, was sentenced July 27 to 37 months in federal prison "for throwing rocks and ignited debris at California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers trapped underneath a downtown Los Angeles freeway overpass … during a violent anti-immigration law enforcement protest last year," according to a Justice Department press release. Vega pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder.
— On June 23 in Texas, eight defendants were sentenced to a combined 450 years in prison for an attack on the Prairieland Detention Center in North Texas. The leader of the group, Benjamin Hanil Song, who was convicted of the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, according to a Justice Department press release.
— On June 11, a Portland, Oregon man, Robert Jacob Hoopes, 25, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release "after striking an officer in the head with a large rock at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in South Portland," according to a Justice Department press release. "Later that same day, he and two other individuals were seen using an upended stop sign as a makeshift battering ram, which resulted in significant damage to the main entry door to the ICE building," the release said, noting that "Hoopes pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a federal employee with a dangerous weapon."
— In May, a jury in Spokane, Washington convicted Jac Archer, Justice Forral, and Bajun Mavalwalla II of violating federal law by conspiring to impede law enforcement officers or injure property used in the execution of their duties. According to a Justice Department press release, "The charges arose from an event at an ICE facility in Spokane in June 2025. That day, defendants and others prevented law enforcement officers from engaging in their official duties of transporting individuals from a detention facility in Spokane to a detention facility and the immigration court near Tacoma."
Federal law enforcement officials say the sentences send an important message. Announcing the Flores lighter-fluid conviction earlier this month, a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, said, "Violent attacks on law enforcement will result in federal prison time … Today’s sentence reflects our commitment to protecting the men and women sworn to keep our communities safe."
In the Portland case, U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford said, "Today’s message is clear – violence is not a protest. When you cross the line and assault a federal officer, you will be prosecuted." The FBI special agent in charge in Portland, Matt Torres, said, "The FBI will not stand idly by and allow federal officers to be assaulted by rioters … We will investigate any perpetrator using violence to express their views and hold them accountable."
When the North Texas sentences were announced, the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, said "The sentences handed down today make clear that Antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities will face swift and uncompromising justice … Their violent extremism has no place in our country, and the Department of Justice will continue to aggressively investigate, disrupt, and prosecute those who threaten law enforcement officers or undermine the rule of law."
The press has largely downplayed the convictions and sentencings, covering them as isolated instances rather than as a nationwide pattern of violent interference with immigration enforcement. A New York Times news article on the North Texas sentencings reported, "The remarkably stiff penalties, issued by Judge Mark T. Pittman and Judge Reed O’Connor, were significantly longer than the lengthiest sentence handed down to any of the more than 1,500 rioters who were prosecuted — and then given clemency — for joining in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021."
To the extent that the clashes between the government and anti-immigration protesters have gotten press attention, the press’s preferred narrative has been that what is underway is as the subheadline over a Wall Street Journal "investigation" earlier this year put it, "an aggressive government campaign to detain and demonize dissenters."
That’s one way to put it, I suppose, if your definition of "dissent" is pouring lighter fluid on a police car or throwing a rock at a federal employee’s head. Another way to look at it, though, is that there’s an illegal anti-government campaign underway to attack immigration officials and violently obstruct enforcement. Immigration enforcement was one of Trump’s signature campaign promises, and he won the election, so it amounts, in effect, to using violence to try to overturn an election result. Where’s the "democracy is in danger" crowd now?
