Federal prosecutors in Chicago moved early Wednesday to dismiss criminal charges against a Chicago couple found lawfully carrying loaded pistols last month outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview.
The move comes after a grand jury refused to hand up an indictment in the case, a defense attorney told the Chicago Sun-Times. Richard Kling cited the old expression that a good prosecutor could convince a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.
“Apparently they had less evidence than a ham sandwich,” said Kling, who represents Ray Collins.
The case against Collins and Jocelyne Robledo had been used nationally to argue that ICE agents have been endangered by protests outside the facility. ICE officials wrote on the agency’s X social media account that “they will be prosecuted and held accountable.”
Criminal charges against the couple were filed Sept. 28, one day after their arrest during a Broadview protest. That protest came only days after a shooter opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas, killing a detainee.
The feds also moved late Tuesday to dismiss a misdemeanor charge against Hubert Mazur, who had been arrested on charges stemming from the same protest in Broadview.
Robledo and Mazur were set for preliminary hearings Wednesday morning. Defense attorneys for Collins and Mazur did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor did a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office.
Arrests stemming from the feds’ so-called “Operation Midway Blitz” have ramped up in the last several days. At least one magistrate judge commented from the bench Monday on her packed schedule full of initial appearances and detention hearings.
But court observers have also been watching closely to see if the charges stick.
Neither Collins nor Robledo faced charges specifically related to the 9mm semiautomatic pistols they’d been found carrying outside the Broadview facility Sept. 27. Rather, they were each charged with assaulting and resisting officers.
A criminal complaint alleged that Collins and Robledo “refused to retreat” when agents sought to widen a perimeter around the Broadview facility. When agents began to push people away, Robledo allegedly pushed back.
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That apparently prompted a struggle. As agents tussled with Robledo, they allegedly found the pistol she was carrying in a band around her waist. Then, Collins allegedly yelled at agents to get away from her and charged toward them, leading to another struggle and the discovery of his gun, according to the complaint.
Still, authorities acknowledged the couple had “lawful permits” for the weapons. And neither was accused of actually brandishing their weapon.
Following the filing of the criminal charges, top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino wrote on X that “the two deranged individuals, armed with pistols, assaulted federal officers and are now being charged with felony assault.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes initially ordered Collins held in custody. He found Robledo ineligible for a detention hearing, in part because she was not accused of actually injuring an officer like Collins. So she was released.
But during a later hearing, U.S. District Judge Sunil Harjani noted that Collins is an employed homeowner with no history of crime or serious substance abuse. Harjani ordered Collins released on conditions that required him to surrender his firearm owner’s ID card and concealed carry license and stay 500 feet away from the Broadview facility.
Mazur, of Medinah, was charged with forcibly resisting a federal officer. A complaint alleged that Mazur refused to step back as ordered when agents tried to move protesters away from the facility. It stated that an agent pushed Mazur before Mazur grabbed the agent’s arm, causing Mazur to be shoved again.
Both then ended up on the ground, where Mazur continued to resist arrest until being placed in handcuffs, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors did not seek Mazur’s detention.