Top L.A. federal prosecutor struggles to secure protester indictments

For the audience in the federal courthouse in Los Angeles city center, it seemed like Atty. Bill essay would not have received no for an answer.

A prosecutor had an angry Trump management appointment on his speaker phone outside the Grand Jury room, and his screams were aware of the three law enforcement force that was aware of the encounter for the fear of retaliation.

The great jury refused to reveal someone accused of attacking the federal law enforcement during protests against the last immigrant raids in Southern California.

Routine was a rare result after a hearing type that led to the federal accusations.

Each time the warehouse calls, according to three officials, Essayli said to ignore the “Justice Handbook ın of the Federal Government, which directed prosecutors to bring prosecutors to bring the lawsuits they could only win in the trial. Essayli took over the prosecutors that they should print and secure the indictments, as guided by the United States. According to three officials, General Pam Bondi.

Court records show the reason for Essayli’s disappointment.

Although his office filed a heavy lawsuit against at least 38 people during the protests of the last month or for abuse close to migration raids, many of them were already dismissed or reduced to blame charges.

Speaking with Times about the condition of anonymity, three officials said that prosecutors were struggling to get a few lawsuits about the protest, passing through the major juries, which had to find a possible reason to advance. This is a rod much lower than the standard öz beyond a reasonable suspicion for criminal conviction.

Five cases have been rejected without prejudice – that is, they can be refilled – and nine of the records opened as misdemeanors that do not require the progress of a large jury indictment. According to the three federal law enforcement force, in some cases, prosecutors were repeatedly inadequate during the major jury phase and reduced accusations against misdemeanors against the defendants.

Essayli refused to interview this article. A statement provided by his office on Tuesday accused Times of spreading “real mistakes and anonymous gossip ,, but he did not offer any details or more comments in response to questions.

“The US Attorney’s Office will continue to work as a Unapologist to blame everyone who attacks our agencies or prevent our federal investigations,” he said.

Legal experts, Essayli’nin a small number of indictments against the power of the cases expressed concerns about the concerns, he said.

Carley Palmer, a former federal prosecutor in La, a partner of Halpern May Ybarra Gelberg, said that the rejection of the Grand Jury repeatedly is a powerful indicator that the prosecutors’ priorities are not synchronized with the priorities of the general community ”.

Essayli won an indictment in some serious cases, including a lawsuit that allegedly fired a paintball gun to the federal police, accused of throwing or planning molotov cocktails to the law enforcement officers with the defendants. In total, however, it provided only seven indictments to be obtained at the latest after only one criminal complaint was submitted. According to the records, the other three cases were resolved with a defense agreement.

Officials of the Ministry of Justice repeatedly praised their work.

Bondi said to Times, “My friend’s lawyer Bill Essayli, my friend, is a champion for the law and order that does superior jobs to judge his rebels for attacking and preventing the law enforcement officers in Los Angeles,” he said.

However, some law experts and Essayli’s prosecutors say that Trump extends the legal limits to serve as an attack dog in Los Angeles

A prosecutor who is afraid of retaliation said, “This usually said, ‘If you want you to jump from you, how high you ask you.

Questions about the effectiveness of Essayli come at a critical time for the former California Assembly member. Bondi appointed him in early April and gave him 120 days to serve as a temporary US lawyer until he received the Senate approval. If it was not confirmed at that time, a Federal Panel will have the opportunity to appoint him – or another – to the position.

Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla from Adam Schiff and California expressed concerns about office leadership in Essayli’s interviews with The Times, and is not directly approval from the counter. At the beginning of this month, a Federal Judicial Panel prevented Trump’s US lawyer in New York after the expired period of Senate’s approval.

On Tuesday, another judicial panel refused to appoint Alina Habba, the temporary federal prosecutor of New Jersey, one of Trump’s former personal lawyers. However, Bondi rejected the judges for going to “Rogue ,, made his elections for the US lawyer and re -appointed Habba. Legal experts say that the movement is unseen.

Meghan Blanco, a former federal prosecutor who served as a defense lawyer to one of the protesters accused in LA, said that the cases were partially drowning due to unreliable information provided by immigration agents claiming to be a victim.

“Frankly, they don’t deserve to prosecute,” he said. “What is claimed is not a federal crime or not just.”

On June 7, Blanco represents Jose Mojica, who was accused of pushing a federal officer in Paramount.

According to an investigation summary of the incident, which was reviewed by Times, a US border patrol officer claimed that he had screamed on his face that he would “hit him”, and then punched him. The officer said that he and other agents began to chase the man, but later “stopped by two other men”, which was later defined as Mojica and Bryan Ramos-Brito.

Blanco said that he received social media videos showing that such a chase was not made and that Mojica offered them as the first court. The charges fell soon.

Blanco said, “The agent lied and said that a person punching him was in pursuit of hot.” “The entire declaration is wrong.”

Crimes against Ramos-Brito and two relevant defendants Ashley and Joceline Rodriguez were also rejected, but the prosecutors refilled against them.

Christian Camacho-Cerna allegedly punched an agent. He claimed that he was not guilty of the hearing for next month.

Similar problems arose in the Andrea Velez case, accused of attacking a federal officer on June 25th. Criminal complaint, 4 feet 11 -inch Velez’in, arms extended migration and customs inventive officer claimed that the head, collided with his head and chest hit.

Velez’s lawyer Diane Bass, the incident, masked, unidentified men in pointed documents occurred to question a Downtown La Street seller, he said.

Bass was left for Work when some of the masked men ran to him and one pushed him to the ground. Velev feared that he was kidnapped, he kept his business bag to protect himself.

BASS, the complaint mentioned in the body -worn camera images and witness statements demanded. Shortly after, the prosecutor rejected the case.

A federal law enforcement force increases the explanations between prosecutors about the accuracy of the statements of federal immigration agents serving as the basis of criminal charges.

“Very hot head [Customs and Border Protection] Firstly, the officers who were arrested and then asked questions. We see that there is no possible reason to support this. ”

On June 8, 2025, a demonstrator shook the Mexican flag in front of a dump fire after another night of restlessness during a protest against migration raids in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

A case under close examination is the case of 20 -year -old Adrian Martinez, who was accused of a complaint with a conspiracy to prevent a federal officer last month.

Martinez said that when he noticed the immigrant agents chasing a care worker, he took a break from his work in Walmart and told them to leave the man alone.

Video images show that Martinez was thrown to the ground and pushed into a truck and took it to a parking structure.

Once there, Martinez said he was said to have been arrested for attacking a federal officer by hitting an agent on his face and breaking his glasses. Martinez, weighing about 150 kilos, said that the agents who arrested him pointed to his colleague who was attacked to his colleague who seems to be a boz bear ”.

Orum I don’t even remember you, Mart Martinez remembered. “They’re just trying to say like me ‘yes, you attacked him’, but I knew I didn’t.”

The next day, Essayli released a photo on Martinez X on his blue Walmart vest. Martinez was arrested because of the allegation of punching a border patrol agent on his face ”.

Criminal complaint does not refer to a fist and video at the scene. He does not clearly show that Martinez was hit by anyone. Instead, the federal prosecutors accused Martinez of a conspiracy to block a federal officer and claimed that he had blocked the federal law enforcement vehicles with his car and later a trash.

The US Lawyer’s Office spokesman Ciaran Mcevoy said that the complaints to Times always do not always contain “full scope or evidence to be presented at the hearing.

A spokesman for an internal security ministry, the agency can not comment on the cases under active lawsuits, he said.

“Our officers face an increase in attacks and attacks when our officers put their lives in order to implement the laws of our nation.” He said.

The accusations against non -violent defendants have repeatedly raised the alarm bells among existing and existing and old federal prosecutors. In early June, the union leader David Huerta was accused of conspiracy to prevent a federal officer allegedly intervening in immigration practice in the La Giya Region in the city center. Legal experts, Huerta’s behavior does not seem guilty, he said.

“Where do you draw the line between an organized protest and a conspiracy to be blocked?” Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and professor at Los Angeles Loyola Faculty of Law, asked last month. “It will be really interesting to see if a large jury has put forward these cases.”

Huerta rejected all injustices and his lawyer did not respond to his request for comments. A deadline dated 5 August to ensure that prosecutors secure the indictment.

Court applications show that some prosecutors refused to sign their names in controversial cases.

Records returned to an indictment against Alejandro Orellana, who was accused of helping conspiracy and civil disorder to produce gas masks only in early June. Such cases are typically handled by US lawyers, the rank and file assistant.

In early May, when an Essayli pushed a jury to attack a woman during the 2023 arrest, when he pushed a slight defense agreement to the Deputy of the district of La Şerif, Trevor Kirk, a few prosecutors refused to sign the document and then resigned.

Times staff writer Kevin Rector contributed to this report.