SPOKANE, Wash – The three remaining people charged in connection with last summer’s protest at a Spokane ICE facility will begin their trial Monday.
Nine people were indicted for the protest, which began as an attempt to block federal agents from leaving the facility with two detainees from Venezuela.
The protest ballooned into a multi-hour event, with police blocking the street and protesters blocking the ICE vehicle from leaving.
Six of those charged have taken plea deals, including former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart, whose calls to action started the protest.
Three defendants remain.
Justice Forral, Jac Dalitso Archer and Bajun Dhunjisha Mavalwalla II are charged with conspiracy to impede or injure officers.
Federal prosecutors say Forral and others placed trash cans, signs, benches and other objects to block the federal officers from leaving the facility.
Archer is accused of posting on social media, telling people to come to the protest and “risk arrest to block the exits to ICE.”
They say Mavalwalla II was one of the co-conspirators who blocked ICE agents from leaving the facility.
Supporters of those indicted have named the defendants the “Spokane 3” and have called the charges against them “unjust and appalling.”
One group has planned a news conference Monday to show solidarity on the first day of the trial.
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