Spokane's ICE protest trial is coming up. Here's what to expect
May 13-A Spokane protest last summer that made national news and snowballed into a wave of federal conspiracy charges against three defendants is making its way to trial next week.
The lead-up to trial has revolved some around the defendants' purported belief they were exercising their First Amendment rights during the protest that flared on Spokane's streets on June 11. Former City Council President Ben Stuckart posted a call to action on Facebook that day asking the public to join him in protesting the detainment of two legal immigrants, Cesar Alvarez Perez and Joswar Rodriguez Torres, and their subsequent transfer to a Tacoma immigration detention center.
Chaos ensued - people came out in droves. Streets were blocked. Police were staged.
Some protesters were linking arms around a red transport van outside the local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility at 411 W. Cataldo Ave., or sitting in front of it as a megaphone blared for them to leave. Protesters slashed tires on another van, according to court documents.
Others were moving benches in front of Spokane police cars as officers argued with protesters, Spokesman-Review video shows. Canisters thrown by police erupted in smoke as a method to disperse the crowd. Mayor Lisa Brown later issued a 9:30 p.m. curfew for some parts of the city to prevent further unrest.
Ultimately, more than 30 people were arrested and charged with various crimes. Nine were later indicted in federal court and accused of using "force and threats" against federal agents to "impede" the transport of federal detainees to their immigration hearings in Tacoma and to "coerce the release" of the detainees, according to the indictment.
Six people, including Stuckart, accepted a deal and pleaded guilty. Three others - Justice Forral, Jac Archer and Bajun Mavalwalla II - pleaded their innocence and will face a federal jury on Monday.
A day after the protest, the U.S. Justice Department sent out a mass email to all 93 U.S. attorneys ordering federal prosecutors to prioritize cases against protesters who defy federal immigration enforcement and to publicize those types of cases.
Acting U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington Richard Barker resigned as prosecutors were considering the cases and posted on LinkedIn that he was grateful he "never had to sign an indictment or file a brief that I didn't believe in," and later told The Spokesman-Review in an interview he "was concerned about the Department's senior leadership in Washington, D.C., staying true to the values of what we hold dear: upholding the rule of law without fear or favor."
Two days after Barker's resignation, the defendants widely labeled by the community as "the Spokane 9" were handed a federal indictment for their alleged roles in the June 11 protest. Federal conspiracy charges are a notoriously high bar to prove, The Spokesman-Review previously reported, because one needs an agreement and an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy to prove a group agreed to commit a crime.
Here's what to expect next week.
What is and isn't allowed in court
Eastern Washington's U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pennell is overseeing the federal trial. Pennell, appointed by former president Joe Biden, has previous experience as a federal public defender and is a former judge for Washington's Court of Appeals, Division III. In the last few months, she has signed off on a number of rulings in response to requests from prosecutors and defense attorneys.
For example, the prosecution asked the judge to ban any reference to the immigration proceedings of Alvarez Perez and Rodriguez Torres, especially Rodriguez Torres being released, because it has "no bearing" on the defendants' actions. Pennell partially denied this request. She ruled any mention of proceedings happening after the day of the protest will not be admitted, but that the defense can explain why the protesters felt the need to show up.
"Defendants' subjective belief that Mr. Torres and other detainees were illegally detained is necessary to provide context of why they were at the HSI facility on June 11, 2025," Pennell wrote.
Another partial denial comes with First Amendment-related issues. Archer previously asked for their case to be dismissed because the government was treating a constitutionally protected and non-violent activity as conspiracy, Archer said in court documents. Archer also said that the act of blocking a van from leaving does not amount to force, intimidation or threats in accordance with the law.
"These actions were directed at a bus, not human beings. Instead of prosecuting individuals for property damage, the Government characterizes nonviolent civil disobedience as a violent conspiracy. This is an absurd and unconstitutional attempt to punish political opponents," Archer's attorney wrote in court documents.
Pennell ruled that witnesses cannot testify about whether their actions are Constitutionally protected. However, they can testify to their beliefs and reasoning for protesting at the time, she wrote.
Barker's statements to The Spokesman-Review about the current leadership in Washington, D.C., will be excluded from trial and he will not testify, Pennell ruled. Also excluded will be any immigration protests after June 11, like the outcry following the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents; any mention of defendants who the government failed to indict; any mention of plea deals from other defendants; any mention the charges are unjust or unfair to prevent jury nullification; any reference that the co-defendants are "co-conspirators" because it implies guilt; any mention referring to law enforcement present during the protest as "victims"; among other rulings.
The witnesses and jury
The prosecution is led by assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca Perez and Lisa Cartier-Giroux. Court records show they intend to call four FBI agents, one ATF agent, two Homeland Security agents, one Border Patrol agent and three ICE agents as witnesses. The prosecution is also calling 10 Spokane police officers and four employees of the Spokane County Sheriff's Office who were there to control the crowd.
Two of the police witnesses are shown in Spokesman-Review video footage being screamed at by protesters as they link arms and stand against the red van.
Mavalwalla II's defense attorney elected to call five people, two of them being a local OB-GYN and former congressional candidate Bernadine Bank and Range Media reporter Erin Sellers, who has elected to fight the subpoena.
Forral's attorney plans to call five Spokane police officers, according to court documents. Archer's attorney plans to call seven people, two of them being Spokane police detectives and one being Spokane Police Department Chief Kevin Hall.
The government plans to submit 473 exhibits, a majority being video footage, social media posts and police body camera footage, according to court documents. Records show during the jury's selection process that defense attorneys plan to weed out biased jurors based on questions about their perception of law enforcement, immigration policy, protests and their participation in any of these.
Attorneys also plan to ask the jurors whether they have viewed the extensive media coverage about the trial. Parts of the story made its way to Fox News, the Guardian and PBS News Hour, which aired a segment in March about Mavalwalla II's military background and his federal charges. He is a former U.S. Army sergeant with PTSD from combat in Afghanistan, and worked as a former intelligence analyst and was among the first soldiers to serve in the U.S. Cyber Command, The Spokesman-Review has reported. He also helped evacuate from Kabul groups of Afghans who had worked with the U.S. military before the fall to the Taliban.
His attorney declined comment Monday.
Mavalwalla II's father, Bajun Mavalwalla, told The Spokesman-Review in September that his son wasn't at the protest to cause trouble or incite violence because it's not in his blood - but that civil disobedience can sometimes be necessary. The elder Mavalwalla is running to represent Spokane in Congress.
"Citizens have an obligation to serve your country," he said, "but that includes fighting injustice within one's own country."
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 11:45 PM.