Judge Dismisses Trump Administration’s Indictment Against Richard LA With Prejudice

Back in October, 44-year-old Carlitos Ricardo Parias — who goes by Richard LA on TikTok and is well-known for using his platform to track and document ICE activity — was charged with assault on a federal officer after he was shot in the arm by federal immigration agents, and the bullet ricocheted, injuring a fellow officer.

The Trump administration claimed Parias was targeted in the South Los Angeles immigration operation because he entered the country illegally, and we were all supposed to believe a man who made a public name for himself by being a social media influencer who specializes in documenting ICE activity did so knowing he himself was undocumented. As we previously reported, “Parias was reportedly in his car while it was parked in the 400 block of East 20th Street near Trinity Street around 8:52 a.m., when federal agents boxed him in with their vehicles as part of what authorities described as a targeted traffic stop on an undocumented immigrant who had previously avoided capture.” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), claimed Parias “weaponized his vehicle and began ramming the law enforcement vehicle in an attempt to flee. Fearing for the safety of the public and law enforcement,” and that “our officers followed their training and fired defensive shots.”

Well, according to ABC News, Parias’ trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday. Instead, on Monday, U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olgin dismissed the indictment, ruling that the defendant was deprived access to counsel while being detained, and that the government failed to comply with the court’s deadlines for releasing evidence, including body camera footage of the incident, which it certainly would have needed since witnesses’ version of events was, as usual, different from that of the Trump administration.

Not only did the judge dismiss the indictment against Parias, but he dismissed it with prejudice, meaning federal prosecutors will not be able to bring new charges against him later.

This is only the latest in a series of failures by the Trump administration to prosecute a high-profile case successfully. Earlier this month, a grand jury in Virginia declined to approve a new criminal indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James, which it pursued after a federal judge dismissed the indictments against James and former FBI Director James Comey, which, as I noted previously, the judge did “because the Justice Department doesn’t know how to appoint U.S. attorneys lawfully.” The government also failed to secure a felony indictment against Sean C. Dunn, who was accused of felony assault on a federal agent after he was captured on camera, hurling a Subway sandwich at a Border Patrol agent in Washington, D.C. After taking that L, the Trump administration tried to convict Dunn on a misdemeanor charge, but a jury rejected that bid as well.

As for Parias, ABC noted that he still might remain in detention while his immigration case is still pending. We’ll all have to stay tuned to see what happens with him next.

SEE ALSO:

TikTok Influencer Richard LA, Who Documents ICE Activity, Shot During ICE Raid, Charged With Assault

Judge Dismisses Charges Against Chicago Woman Shot By Border Patrol