A couple from South Los Angeles is dealing with criminal charges for reportedly using their car to block and chase federal immigration agents while they were carrying out search warrants earlier this year.
Gustavo Torres, 28, and Kiara Jaime-Flores, 34, are accused of working together to harm or interfere with officers, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Advocacy groups that highlight immigration raids and educate people about their legal rights said the arrests were a tactic used by the Trump administration to scare people away from activism.
The couple could not be contacted for a response. It was not clear right away if they had a lawyer.
The charges come from an event in February. On the 28th, agents from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection were carrying out search warrants in South Los Angeles. A small group of people gathered outside a house in the Florence neighborhood, according to a federal affidavit that came with the charging documents.
At 9:32 a.m., three federal law enforcement vehicles left the location with “evidence,” according to court documents. There was no sign that any residents were taken by the federal agents.
An agent saw Jaime-Flores outside the house next to a Honda Fit as they left. That same car blocked the agents’ cars at 61st Street and Broadway. The agents could drive around the Honda, according to the affidavit.
While leaving, Torres passed in front of one of the government vehicles and slammed on his brakes, according to the affidavit. Agents reported that Torres drove into a gas station and followed them for about two miles.
Federal agents found the Honda Fit’s license plate by looking at surveillance footage from a nearby business.
On May 5, a federal agent talked to Jaime-Flores during a traffic stop. She admitted that she was driving the Honda Fit with an expired driver’s license. She asked if she was being questioned about an immigration-related incident, according to the affidavit.
She told the agent that she and her boyfriend, who was later identified as Torres, went to the house in the Florence neighborhood after noticing the activity on social media. The affidavit states that she said the couple was against the immigration agent’s actions.
The agent said that Jaime-Flores agreed to have her mobile phone searched. The agent discovered deleted photos from social media of the house where immigration agents acted in February. 28 order de búsqueda.
A dated photo had a message on it that read, “We Try to Stop But I Can’t Do It Alone!” We must stay united to resist them for as long as possible! Please, let’s work together in a positive way! Somos más personas que oficiales de migración. “[Tenemos más personas que los funcionarios de inmigración]”
Jaime-Flores was arrested and put in the back of an Inglewood Police Department car. She was read her Miranda Rights and agreed to speak with the agent, according to the affidavit.
Jaime-Flores then called Torres while an immigration agent was present. She told him to meet the agent, saying “we did nothing wrong,” as stated in the affidavit.
Torres met the agent at a business in Santa Fe Springs and was informed that he was not being arrested. Torres said that he had a suspended driver’s license and it was suspended on the same day the agents were conducting their operation.