El Paso judge dismisses riot charges against 140 likely illegal aliens — Republican DA indicts them anyway

A district attorney in Texas has indicted 141 allegedly illegal aliens for riot participation just one day after a judge claimed there was no probable cause for doing so.

On April 12, a group of 300 or so individuals reportedly crossed the U.S. border illegally near Riverside High School in El Paso, Texas. Of those 300, 142 allegedly cut through a temporary fence constructed of concertina wire, an act that "constitutes an illegal entry into the U.S.," according to a statement from Border Patrol.

They then allegedly engaged in some kind of "encounter" with law enforcement agents with Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star, the El Paso Times reported, though the nature of that "encounter" is unclear.

All 142 individuals, most of whom are believed to be Venezuelan nationals, currently face federal charges of illegal entry into the U.S. However, when local prosecutors also wanted to charge them with riot participation for the alleged confrontation with law enforcement, El Paso County Judge Ruben Morales expressed doubt about the underlying predicate.

"After reviewing the affidavit, I don't believe that [probable cause] exists," Morales said at a hearing on Monday. "I don't believe there is probable cause for these individuals to continue to be detained for the offense of riot participation."

Morales ultimately dismissed 140 of the riot-related cases.

Morales' ruling was not legally binding, however, and on Tuesday, just one day after Morales' dismissal, El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks proceeded with the indictments anyway, having first impaneled a grand jury that supported the indictments.

"When we took the broader case to the grand jury, we presented the case as a whole, we presented videotape evidence of what happened. The grand jurors believed that there was, in fact, probable cause," Hicks said at a press conference on Tuesday.

In all, Hicks has charged 141 people with riot participation. They include all 140 cases dismissed by Judge Morales as well as an individual with an additional charge of criminal mischief. None of their names have been released. All have reportedly been transferred from the county jail into ICE's custody as part of their immigration detainer.

In Texas, riot participation is a Class B misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 180 days in jail or a $2,000 fine, so impaneling a grand jury for such a case was unusual. But Hicks, a Republican, believes that adjudicating these cases is important for public safety.

"People believe they can come to our country knocking down barriers, endangering lives, causing our national guardsmen to fear for their lives," he said. "... They cannot do that."

El Paso County Public Defender Kelli Childress, who represents the defendants, views these cases very differently. She called the indictments "horrific" and indicated they were largely baseless. "They have no witnesses. They have no evidence," she said. Prosecutors are simply charging them as "part of [a] group," she claimed.

Hicks countered that individuals should be held accountable for participating in a group that then collectively commits a crime: "If you’re a part of the group that is committing a criminal act, you know that you’re part of that group, you know that the group has committed a criminal act, then you are guilty of the offense of riot."

Hicks noted that he intends to offer the defendants a plea deal that will include time served. Thus far, none have reportedly accepted it. Following their hearings for the state charges, Hicks said, "They’d be released to Border Patrol, and either some people will be deported, or some people are going to get released."

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