A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent was dragged for nearly a block in Oklahoma by an illegal alien from Honduras attempting to escape federal custody, authorities said.
Jose Melgar-Rivas, 34, of Honduras, has since been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer resulting in bodily injury, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester of the Western District of Oklahoma announced Wednesday.
ICE agents pulled over a vehicle in Oklahoma City Tuesday, and Melgar-Rivas, a Honduran national and an ICE fugitive, refused the officer's demands to exit the vehicle, court documents say.
A struggle ensued as officers attempted to remove him, and Melgar-Rivas shifted the vehicle into drive and fled, according to a complaint. An ICE officer became trapped in a door of the vehicle as it accelerated.
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The officer was dragged on a road for nearly a block as Melgar-Rivas tried to escape, the complaint says. The officer ultimately freed himself and sustained multiple injuries.
ICE said its Enforcement and Removal Operations agents from Dallas were involved in the incident. The agency shared two photos showing the injured agent's scraped, bloodied upper thigh and a bruised and bandaged arm.
Melgar-Rivas was arrested several hours later, prosecutors said. ICE also shared a photo with an agent holding each arm of a handcuffed Melgar-Rivas once he was taken into custody.
"Ensuring the safety of law enforcement personnel in executing their lawful duties is paramount, and it remains a top priority of the Justice Department," Troester said in a statement. "Those who assault or interfere with members of law enforcement for simply doing their job enforcing the law must and will be held accountable."
"Those who assault federal officers will face swift and stern accountability for their actions," Travis Pickard, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas special agent in charge of North Texas and Oklahoma, added. "Violence and any threats of violence to a federal officer in the performance of their duties will result in an immediate and collaborative law enforcement response to track down the perpetrator."
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"Assaults on federal agents will not be tolerated by the FBI," FBI Oklahoma City acting Special Agent in Charge Joe Ogden said. "We will continue to aggressively support and defend our fellow public servants so they can safely carry out their sworn duties."
The Department of Homeland Security has reported a 700% increase in assaults against ICE agents and other immigration enforcement officers in the first six months since President Donald Trump returned to office.
The Trump administration has pledged to hold perpetrators accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The Justice Department brought charges against more than a dozen defendants in the July 4 attack against an ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas, where a police officer was shot in the neck defending the center holding prospective deportees.
The FBI on Wednesday captured a Marine Corps reservist believed to have opened fire at the officer and correctional officers that night.
Los Angeles has seen a rash of anti-ICE demonstrations since June, but the Pentagon this week removed about half of the 4,000 National Guard troops federalized to protect the city, arguing most "lawlessness" had subsided.
Melgar-Rivas appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City and was ordered to be detained in federal custody pending further proceedings.
Prosecutors say Melgar-Rivas faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted.
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The U.S. Attorney's Office said the case is part of Operation Take Back America, "a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime."
