A jury in Spokane, Wash., on Thursday convicted three anti-ICE demonstrators in a closely watched case that tested the effectiveness of the Trump administration’s effort to use federal conspiracy charges against protesters, and prompted the region’s acting U.S. attorney to resign.
The eight-day trial of the protesters, Bajun Mavalwalla II, Justice Forral and Jac Archer, stemmed from a June 2025 demonstration outside a building rented by the federal government.
Hundreds of protesters responded to a call on social media to help stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from transporting two Venezuelan immigrants to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Wash. The migrants were in the country legally but faced outstanding warrants.
The local police used smoke grenades and pepper balls and eventually arrested more than 30 people as the demonstration devolved into pushing and shoving between law enforcement officers and protesters. Some demonstrators also graffitied and slashed the tires of a federal transport van.
The Spokane protest coincided with a wave of demonstrations responding to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, and came as the Justice Department directed prosecutors to prioritize cases involving interference with immigration enforcement.
Shortly after the demonstration, Richard Barker, then the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, authorized prosecutors to examine whether protesters could face charges of conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers. A federal grand jury later indicted nine people.
Mr. Barker resigned before the indictments were filed and has since said that he did not believe the charges were warranted because no officers or protesters had been injured.
His successor, Stephanie Van Marter, signed the indictments charging the nine defendants with federal felonies. Six reached plea agreements on lesser charges, but the other three rejected plea deals, arguing the federal government was violating their First Amendment rights.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that the defendants were part of a coordinated effort to prevent immigration officers from carrying out their duties and that their actions, including blocking gates, doors and a driveway and encouraging others to join them, constituted criminal conduct, regardless of the political motivations.
Defense lawyers argued that while the three demonstrators might have engaged in unruly behavior, they were not part of any preconceived plan and did not use force, threats or intimidation against federal officers.
Jurors found Mx. Forral and Mx. Archer, who both identify as nonbinary, guilty of conspiring to impede federal officers, though they did not find that either had intended to injure law enforcement officers, according to the jury verdict form.
Mr. Mavalwalla was convicted of aiding and abetting others involved in a conspiracy to impede officers.
The verdict prompted outrage from Spokane civic leaders, including Mayor Lisa Brown, who called it “politically motivated” and designed to discourage political dissent. Mr. Barker, now working in private practice, said that while he respected the jury process, “I really do question whether justice was truly served.”
The region’s U.S. attorney’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Defense lawyers have asked the trial judge to set aside the verdicts and acquit their clients. A district court judge, Rebecca Pernell, a former public defender appointed by President Joseph R. Biden Jr., has agreed to consider the request this summer. The defendants are expected to appeal if the motion is denied.
Judge Pernell has not set a sentencing hearing. The federal conspiracy charge carries a penalty of up to six years in prison.
Anna Griffin is the Pacific Northwest bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of Washington, Idaho, Alaska, Montana and Oregon.
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