A federal judge has dismissed an indictment against a Los Angeles TikTok streamer who was shot by an officer during an immigration enforcement operation and accused of assaulting a federal agent, citing a constitutional violation.
Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a TikTok creator who broadcasts local news, was accused in October of crashing his car into the vehicles of immigration agents after they surrounded him during an operation. Body-worn camera footage obtained by the Los Angeles Times shows an agent fired his gun during the incident, shooting Parias in the elbow. A ricochet bullet also hit a deputy US marshal in the hand.
He was indicted by a grand jury and scheduled to stand trial on Tuesday.
But on Saturday, US district judge Fernando Olguin ordered the indictment dismissed, saying the government denied Parias his rights when it decided to hold him at the Adelanto ICE processing center – an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center about 90 miles (145 km) east of Los Angeles – immediately after he was ordered released. from prison. Olguin also said that once in Adelanto, Parias’ defense team could not schedule any legal visits.
Related: LA TikTok creator is streaming ICE raids accused of assault after shooting
“The barriers and obstacles that ICE has established in Adelanto make it difficult, if not impossible, for the accused to meet with his lawyers, and have caused the accused to suffer demonstrable prejudice or a substantial threat thereof,” the judge said.
In his order he also cited the government’s failure to meet several deadlines in the discovery process, including its failure to release body-worn camera footage that captured the shooting by the deadline.
The government had charged Parias with assault, saying he used his car as a “weapon” to crash into two law enforcement vehicles. But in the footage that led up to Parias’ shooting, reviewed by the LA Times, Parias’ car did not appear to be moving. The video shows him asking the officers why he is being detained, and an officer threatens to shoot Parias if he doesn’t come out.
“We strongly disagree with the court’s version of the facts as well as its legal conclusions. We are reviewing the court’s decision and will determine our options for an appeal,” the US attorney’s office in LA said.
The charge was dismissed with prejudice, meaning prosecutors cannot refile the same assault charges against Parias.
“While we remain quite confident that a jury will easily acquit Mr. Parias, the government prejudiced his right to a fair and speedy trial by denying him meaningful access to his defense team and failing to disclose in a timely manner the evidence they claimed supported the charges,” said federal public defender Cuauhtemoc Ortega and deputy federal public defender for Li Gabriela Rivera, the defender federal public for Li Gabriela Rivera. “We are grateful that Mr. Parias’ constitutional rights have been vindicated.”
Although his charge was dismissed, Parias, who the government says is a Mexican citizen living in the United States without legal status, may remain in ICE detention while his immigration case proceeds.
After the justice department charged dozens of people with “assaulting” and “obstructing” federal officials and other crimes during protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids, a Guardian investigation found that prosecutors were forced to drop many of those cases. Many of them lied on inaccurate officer reports, the Guardian found.