Washington — In an internal memo obtained by CBS News, the Justice Department ordered its 93 federal prosecutors’ offices to beef up preparations for criminal cases stemming from unrest in communities across the country over immigration enforcement.
“Across the country we have seen instances of rioting, looting, arson, destruction of property, assaults on officers (federal, state, and local), and obstruction of federal immigration enforcement efforts,” the memo said. “[T]he Department has zero tolerance for any such criminal behavior.”
The memo instructs U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to “diligently monitor these enforcement efforts by maintaining regular comms with their DHS and DOJ agency counterparts.”
The memo added that leadership “should prepare their offices to provide legal support for operations in their districts. One or two duty [assistant U.S. attorneys] is insufficient. All [U.S. Attorney Office] leadership and the entire Criminal Division should be on standby. There should be no bottleneck of referrals for complaints and legal process.”
Federal prosecutors were instructed to “prioritize” any requests for search warrants or complaints in these types of cases and “push out press releases whenever you file charges in these matters.”
The Justice Department has already filed a series of criminal cases that allege obstruction or criminal activity related to immigration operations, and has vowed to prosecute anyone who assaults officers or interferes with ongoing immigration actions amid protests in Los Angeles and around the country.
David Huerta, a longtime union leader, is charged in Los Angeles with conspiracy. He is scheduled for arraignment on July 7. According to a Homeland Security Investigation officer’s sworn affidavit, Huerta sat down in front of a vehicular gate to a staging ground for Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that were ongoing nearby. The complaint alleged he yelled to other protesters to “stop the vehicles,” and said, “It’s a public sidewalk, they can’t stop us.”
In a separate case, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey has filed a felony criminal case against Rep. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat, who was attempting to visit an immigration facility in Newark on May 9. Prosecutors alleged McIver sought to stop federal agents from arresting the mayor of Newark during the confrontation. “During her continued attempts to thwart the arrest, McIver slammed her forearm into the body of one law enforcement officer and also reached out and tried to restrain that officer by forcibly grabbing him,” the Justice Department said. “McIver also used each of her forearms to forcibly strike a second officer.”
McIver responded to the criminal indictment in a statement: “The facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job and will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation.”
When asked for comment about the new memo to prosecutors, a Justice Department spokesman told CBS News, “As we’ve said repeatedly, the Department respects the right to peacefully protest & assemble to engage on important issues. However, the Department and its 94 US Attorney Offices will not tolerate unlawful violence & destruction of property. We are prepared to respond accordingly.”