Another Michigander is facing criminal charges for interfering with the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.
Jacob Nathaniel Len, a 30-year-old from Ypsilanti, appeared in federal court in Detroit on Monday, when he was charged with impeding, intimidating, or interfering with Border Patrol agents who were engaged in their official duties, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The alleged actions of this man are shameful,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a statement. “While zipping around in his BMW, this defendant cavalierly endangered the hardworking agents who put their lives on the line every day protecting our country, the illegal aliens they were tasked with safely transporting, and other drivers going about their lives.”
The charge stemmed from an incident that occurred around 6 p.m. on July 7, when four uniformed Border Patrol agents in two marked service vehicles were transporting 15 illegal immigrants from Detroit to a detention center in Baldwin, The Detroit News reports.
“While the agents were traveling on Interstate 96, Len drove his BMW sedan toward one of the marked Border Patrol vehicles and flipped off the agents with his middle finger,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “Immediately after clearing the front bumper of the lead Border Patrol transport van, Len abruptly cut in front of the transport van, without signaling, and rapidly slowed down, forcing the driver of the transport van to quickly break to avoid a collision.”
A trailing Border Patrol vehicle was also forced to slow abruptly to avoid colliding with the transport van. An affidavit submitted to the court alleges Len repeated the break checking two more times before merging southbound on US-23 as the federal convoy headed north, according to The News.
“Due to the sudden braking, the immigrant detainees slammed against the interior walls in the back of the van,” according to the affidavit cited by the Detroit Free Press.
Agents did not attempt to engage or stop Len, but they did snap a photo of his license plate and reported the incident through 911. Investigators later caught up with Len and his BMW at his home on July 30.
“When asked if he drove his BMW erratically in the presence of Border Patrol vehicles a few weeks prior, Len confirmed he was driving on I-96 that day and that he ‘flicked off’ the vehicles,” the complaint reads. “Len first denied that he ‘brake checked’ the Border Patrol transport van but later admitted that brake checking the vehicles could have hurt the occupants inside.”
“Interfering with a federal agent performing their official duties is a serious criminal offense and will not be tolerated,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “The alleged actions by Jacob Len were not only reckless, but endangered lives and compromised public safety. I would like to thank the dedicated members of our FBI Ann Arbor Resident Agency for their thorough work with this investigation.”
Len was released on bond following an initial court appearance on Monday, and is scheduled back in U.S. District Court on Aug. 25.
His charges mark at least the third Michigander arrested for interfering with immigration enforcement in recent months.
Two anti-immigration protestors were charged with felonies in July after they allegedly attempted to thwart the arrest of a twice-deported illegal immigrant criminal in Detroit.
The ordeal centered on Marcos Fabian Arita Bautista, a twice-deported illegal immigrant from Honduras who fled from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to a home near Joy and Livernois streets, The Detroit News reports.
Members of a Department of Homeland Security task force secured a warrant and raided the home, arrested Bautista, and loaded him in a black Nissan Titan as protestors with Detroit Will Breathe and Detroit People’s Assembly gathered outside, where they screamed at ICE agents while recording the arrest.
When an officer attempted to leave the scene in a Nissan Titan through an open field, 36-year-old Detroit resident Roman Gomez-Ocadiz jumped in his truck to drive alongside the Nissan, before pulling ahead to cut off the vehicle, according to ICE.
“Gomez-Ocadiz obstructed, impeded and/or interfered with (the officer’s) exit, causing (the officer) to slam on his brakes and avoid hitting Gomez-Ocadiz’s vehicle or other protesters,” read an affidavit cited by The News. “Due to Gomez-Ocadiz’s actions, (the officer) had to put his vehicle in reverse and exit the field with the arrestee using a different route.”
Gomez-Ocadiz bailed from his truck and attempted to flee the scene on foot with federal agents giving chase, but was apprehended shortly after when an agent took him down with a taser, according to the court filing.
Authorities impounded Gomez-Ocadiz’s vehicle, and he was officially arrested by federal agents when he attempted to retrieve it at the impound lot, though officials contend he initially resisted arrest.
Other protesters at the home who attempted to approach officers at the scene were pepper sprayed by one of the several Detroit Police officers deployed to control the crowd of about two dozen.
One of the protestors was arrested for malicious destruction of property involving a federal vehicle at the scene, as well, WJBK reports.
According to ICE, Bautista crossed into the U.S. illegally near Falfurrias, Texas, in September 2015, and was deported to Honduras. Bautista was back in February 2018 near Hidalgo, Texas, where he was again arrested and deported to Honduras.
By 2022, Bautista was in Dauphin County, Penn., where he pleaded guilty to driving an unregistered vehicle, and operating without financial responsibility or title, ICE reports.
