To the bystanders at federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, it sounded like we were atty. Bill Essayri doesn’t say no to the answer.
The prosecutor attacked the Trump administration appointee on a speaker phone outside the room of the large ju judge, and his screams could be heard.
The big ju judge just refused to indict anyone accused of attacking federal law enforcement officials during a protest against Southern California’s recent immigration attack, two officials said.
That was a very rare outcome after hearings of the type that led to routinely filing of federal accusations.
On the phone he overheard, three officials said the 39-year-old essays were subordinated to ignore the federal government’s “judicial manual,” which directs prosecutors to only file cases that can be won at trial. The essay barred that the prosecutor should push and secure the charges as our atty had directed. General Pam Bondi, according to three officials.
Court records show the reasons for the essay’s complaints.
His office has filed felony lawsuits against at least 38 people on suspicion of misconduct during the protests last month or near the location of the immigration attack, many have already been dismissed or reduced to misdemeanor charges.
Three officials who spoke to the Times anonymous state said the prosecutor had trouble getting several protest-related cases past the big ju court. It’s a bar that’s far lower than the “beyond reasonable doubt” standard required for a criminal conviction.
Five cases were dismissed without bias — meaning they could be reconsidered — and records show that nine were filed as misdemeanors. According to three federal law enforcement officials, prosecutors reduced charges against defendants for misdemeanors after repeated shortfalls at the major ju trial stage.
Essayli refused to interview this article. A statement provided by his office on Tuesday denounced a time when spreading “de facto inaccuracy and anonymous gossip,” but did not provide details or further comment in response to questions.
“The US law firm will continue to work side-by-side to claim all those who attack our agents or interfere with federal investigations,” the statement said.
Legal experts said the small number of essay accusations raised concerns about the strength of the cases he is submitting.
Carly Palmer, a former federal prosecutor in LA, now a partner at Halpern May Ibarra Gelberg, said the repeated rejection of the large ju trial case was “a strong indication that priorities in the prosecutor’s office are out of sync with those in the general community.”
Essayli has won charges in several serious cases, including two people accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at LA law enforcement officials and the defendant allegedly fired a paintball gun at federal police. But in total, he has secured seven charges, but usually must be obtained by 21 days after filing the criminal charge. Records show that three other cases have been resolved through plea bargaining.
High-ranking Justice Department officials have repeatedly praised his work.
“My friend, US lawyer Bill Essayli, is a law and order champion who did the finest job of prosecuting violent people to attack and obstruct law enforcement in Los Angeles,” Bondy said in a statement from the era.
Atty. General Pam Bondy will speak at a press conference at the Department of Justice held in Washington on June 6th.
(Julia Demarie Nikinson / Associated Press)
However, some legal experts and essay prosecutors say he is extending legal restrictions to serve as Trump’s attack dog in Los Angeles
“It’s a culture that’s generally, ‘If Bill asks you to jump, ask how expensive you are’,” the prosecutor, who feared retaliation. “In any case he wants to charge, find a way to make it ‘yes’. ”
Questions about the effectiveness of Essayli come at a critical time for former California Congress members. Bondi appointed him in early April and gave him 120 days to work as an interim US lawyer until he received Senate approval. If he has not been confirmed by then, the panel of federal judges has the opportunity to appoint him or someone else.
California Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla raised concerns about the leadership of the essayre office in an interview with the Times, and are not certain of direct approval from the bench. Earlier this month, the Federal Judiciary Committee blocked Trump’s choice for U.S. lawyers in upstate New York after the Senate confirmation period ended.
On Tuesday, another judicial committee refused to appoint Alina Haba, interim federal prosecutor in New Jersey. However, Bondy denounced the judge for being “fraudulent,” fired their choice for US lawyers, and reappointed Haba. Legal experts say the move is unprecedented.
Meghan Blanco, a former federal prosecutor in LA, said the case is in decline due to unreliable information provided by immigration agents who claim to be the victim, serving as the defense attorney for one of the protesters facing the charges.
“Frankly, they don’t deserve prosecution,” she said. “What was alleged was not a federal crime and simply not a crime.”
Blanco represents Jose Mojica, who was accused of pushing federal officers at Paramount on June 7th.
According to an outline of the investigation into the case reviewed by the Times, U.S. Border Patrol officers punched him, claiming he was screaming in his face, “shooting him.” Officers said he and other agents began chasing after the men, but were “stopped by two other men,” who were later identified as Mozica and Brian Ramos Brito.
Blanco said he obtained social media videos indicating that no such pursuit was made and presented them in Mojica’s first court appearance. The price was removed immediately.
“The agent lied and said he was passionately pursuing the person who punched him,” Blanco said. “The whole affidavit is wrong.”
Felony charges against Ramos Brito and two related defendants, Ashley and Jocelyn Rodriguez, were also dismissed, but prosecutors modified the misdemeanor case against them.
Christian Camacho Kana, the man who allegedly punched an agent, has been indicted. He pleads not guilty and is set to trial next month.
In the case of Andrea Veles, a similar problem occurred. Andrea Veres was charged with assaulting a federal officer on June 25th. The criminal charges alleged that the 4-foot-11-inch Bereth stood in the path of immigrants and customs enforcement with his arms extended and struck his head and chest when he collided.
Veres’ attorney Diane Bass said the incident occurred when an unclear, unidentified man from Plain Cross stood up to question a vendor in downtown LA Street.
Veles said that when some of the masked men ran to her and someone pushed her into the ground, they had just been dropped off for work, the bus said. Veres lifted her work bag to protect herself, fearing that she was being accused of.
Base requested footage of the body decoration camera cited in the complaint and a statement of witnesses. Soon, prosecutors dismissed the case, she said.
A common enforcement officer with federal law enforcement officers who are not permitted to speak publicly said concerns among prosecutors about the accuracy of the statements made by federal immigration agents, which serve as the basis for criminal charges.
“There are lots of hot heads [Customs and Border Protection] The officer arrests first and asks questions later. A prosecutor who called for anonymity to concerns of impact said:
Protesters waving Mexican flags in front of a trash can fire after another night of unrest, during a protest against an immigration attack in Los Angeles, California on June 8, 2025.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
One case under thorough scrutiny comes from the case of 20-year-old Adrian Martinez, who was accused of criminal charges last month of conspiracy to obstruct a federal officer.
Martinez says he was taking a break from work at Walmart when he spots an immigration agent chasing a maintenance worker and tells him to leave the man alone.
Video footage shows Martinez being thrown to the ground and pushed into the truck.
Once there, Martinez said he was arrested for hitting an agent in his face, breaking glasses and assaulting a federal officer. Martinez, who weighs about 150 pounds, said the agent who arrested him saw his colleague accused of the attack as “like a grizzly bear.”
“I don’t even remember you,” Martinez recalled saying. “They seemed to want me to say, ‘Yes, you attacked him,’ but I knew I didn’t. ”
The next day, the essays posted a photo on Martinez’s X, still at his blue Walmart vest. Martinez was arrested “due to allegations of punching Border Patrol agents in his face,” he wrote.
The criminal charges did not mention punches or videos filmed at the scene. Martinez’s strike is not clearly visible to anyone. Instead, federal prosecutors accused Martinez of conspiracy to obstruct federal officials, claiming he blocked a federal law enforcement vehicle with his car and then blocked the trash can.
Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesman for the U.S. Lawyer’s Office, previously told The Times that the complaint does not necessarily include “the full extent of the defendant’s conduct or evidence presented at trial.”
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said the agency could not comment on litigation that is based on aggressive litigation.
“Our officers are facing a surge in attacks and attacks against them, stopping their lives to enforce the laws of our country,” the DHS statement said.
The charges against non-violent defendants have repeatedly raised alarm bells among current and former federal prosecutors. In early June, union leader David Fuerta was charged with conspiracy to block a federal official allegedly obstructing immigration enforcement action in downtown La Garment district. Legal experts said Fuerta’s actions were not visible to criminals.
“Where do you draw the line between organized protests and conspiracy to obstruct?” asked last month last month, former federal prosecutor and professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “It would actually be interesting to see if the big ju judge would indict these cases.”
Fuerta denied all misconduct and his lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. The August 5 deadline is looming for prosecutors to secure charges.
According to court applications, some prosecutors appear to be refusing to sign their names in controversial cases.
The indictment that returned against Alejandro Orellana, who is accused of conspiracy and civil disability assistance to hand over a gas mask in the protest scene in early June, was signed only by Essayri and his assistant commander Jennifer Weier. Such cases are usually handled by a rank and file assistant US lawyer.
In early May, months after essayri convicted jury of assaulting a woman on him during his 2023 arrest, when LA County Sheriff Vice President Trevor Kirk, to propose a generous plea deal, prosecutors refused to sign documents calling for the deal, and later resigned.
Times staff writer Kevin Lecter contributed to this report.
Source link
