Surgery center workers who scuffled with ICE agents facing federal charges
Two California surgery center workers are facing federal charges after being accused of scuffling with ICE agents. The July 9 incident captured on video shows the two workers standing in the way of agents, as they tried to detain a man who ran into the surgical building.
To identify the workers, federal agents staked out the Los Angeles-area SCA Health Ontario Advanced Surgery Center for three days following the July 8 confrontation, in which masked, plainclothes ICE agents chased a suspected illegal immigrant into the building.
Federal officials on July 25 said Jose de Jesus Ortega and Danielle Davila have been charged with assaulting a federal officer and conspiracy to prevent by force and intimidation a federal officer from discharging his duties. Ortega was arrested on July 25, and authorities said they're still pursuing Davila.
The video, which went viral, shows two surgery center workers in scrubs yelling and blocking one of the agents from detaining the man.
Federal officials criticized what they said was a "false narrative" in the media and online that portrayed the detainee as a patient at the clinic. According to authorities, the ICE agents saw the truck stop outside the building, and when they approached the men, the men ran.
According to court records, the agents had no specific knowledge that the man who ran into the clinic was living in the country illegally, and had been following the truck in which he was riding as part of a "roving patrol" in their unmarked vehicle.
"The illegal alien arrested inside the surgery center was not a patient," United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. "He ran inside for cover and these defendants attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents. It doesn't matter who you are or where you work, if you assault our agents or otherwise interfere with our operations, you will be arrested and charged with a federal crime."
In a July 9 social media post, Homeland Security officials said the man who agents were chasing is Honduran national Denis Guillen-Solis. They said he was living illegally in the United States.
"He ended up near the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center where hospital staff assaulted law enforcement and drug the officer and illegal alien into the facility," DHS said in the post. "Then, the staff attempted to obstruct the arrest by locking the door, blocking law enforcement vehicles from moving, and even called the cops claiming there was a 'kidnapping.'"
The video is among the latest examples of people delaying or obstructing ICE agents carrying out President Donald Trump's mass-immigration initiative, which has also sparked widespread protests. The identities of the two ICE agents involved in the surgery center detention were not released.
Federal officials say ICE agents are increasingly being assaulted or targeted by community members, which requires them to remain anonymous.
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