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stephen miller Raid against California jury that acquitted man of towing ICE vehicle immigration enforcement operations,
On Friday, a federal jury found los angeles tow truck driver bobby nunez Found not guilty of theft of government property after a four-day trial.
Nunez, 33, was arrested in September after being charged with interference with custody tiktok Influencer Tatiana Mafala-Martinez live-streamed her arrest. A video of the incident shows a government SUV being driven away by the agents who pinned Mafala-Martinez to the ground.
miller, White House Deputy Chief of StaffThe man who played a key role in shaping the Trump administration’s immigration policy took to social media to express his dissatisfaction with the outcome.
“another example forceful jury nullification In a blue city,” Miller wrote on Sunday X. “The justice system depends on juries of peers with a shared system of interests and values. “Massive migration tribalizes the entire legal system.”
Bill Essaly, US Attorney for the Central District of California, also accepted the decision on Friday.
“A jury found Mr. Nunez not guilty“He was free on bond pending trial,” Esaily said, according to NBC News. We have no further comment.”
Earlier, Essaly had said he believed Nunez would face prison time.
“Apparently they thought it would be ridiculous to interfere with our immigration enforcement operations,” he wrote on X in September. “Now he can laugh behind bars While he has to face justice. If convicted, Nunez could face up to 10 years in federal prison.”
Meanwhile, Nunez’s lawyers said they were pleased the jury found their client not guilty.
“We thank the jurors for their service as an essential backstop prosecution overreach In our constitutional system,” he told Los Angeles Times,
During the multi-day trial, Nunez’s defense team argued that his actions barely interfered with the ICE arrest, given that he had pulled the vehicle over only a block away and it was retrieved within minutes.
Mafala-Martinez was detained on charges of being in the US illegally. according to TimesHe was previously convicted of driving under the influence and entering the US illegally in 2022, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said.
The jury’s decision is the latest court setback for the Trump administration, which has vowed to prosecute individuals who get in the way of immigration enforcement actions.
A recent investigation The Associated Press revealed that dozens of cases brought against people accused of obstructing ICE activity have been dropped.
“Of the 100 people initially charged with aggravated assault on federal agents, 55 had their charges reduced to misdemeanors, or dismissed outright,” the AP reported Thursday. “At least 23 people pleaded guilty, most of them having reduced charges in deals with prosecutors, resulting in little or no jail time.”