A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against a Paramount, California, man suspected of throwing pieces of cinderblock that struck and injured a Border Patrol agent during an anti-ICE protest in June. The suspect indicted in the assault is now facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Jacob Daniel Terrazas, a 30-year-old resident of Paramount, is charged with one count of assault on a federal employee by using a deadly and dangerous weapon resulting in bodily injury. According to United States Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli, the incident happened on June 7 near an ICE Homeland Security Investigations facility when a protest against immigration law enforcement turned into a riot.
The indictment alleges Terrazas was one of several individuals who threw hard objects, including cinderblocks and rocks, at federal agents when the protest turned violent. Terrazas is alleged to have used both a makeshift shield and nearby trees for cover and repeatedly rushed toward the agents to throw chunks of concrete at them.
According to court documents, one of the pieces of cinderblock allegedly thrown by Terrazas struck a Border Patrol agent in his left shin, injuring the agent and causing him to bleed. The injured agent removed himself from the front lines to mend his injury. After realizing he could still walk and stand, the agent was able to return to the front lines. Rocks thrown by the anti-ICE assailants struck a second Border Patrol agent, who was uninjured in the melee.
Terrazas, who wore a dark beanie and black mask covering the lower half of his face, and other individuals threw rocks at Border Patrol agents for approximately three hours, according to the indictment. Law enforcement used less-lethal force, pepper balls, against Terrazas and other rock throwers. Eventually, law enforcement detained, identified, and arrested Terrazas.
Speaking about the indictment of Terrazas, who is scheduled to go to trial on September 23, U.S. Attorney Essayli offered comments about the lengthy sentence facing the defendant, saying, “We will not stand by while our brave federal agents and officers get hurt. If you injure an official enforcing immigration law, you may serve 20 years in a federal prison cell. It’s just not worth it.”
The indictment of Terrazas is but one of numerous cases opened on suspects accused of assaulting ICE agents engaged in enforcing immigration laws. As reported by Breitbart Texas, more than two dozen suspects have been charged with assaulting federal agents in recent weeks in California and Oregon alone.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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