Attacks on ICE up 1,000%? Trump administration claim not backed up by court records

"The object that Assistant U.S. Atty. Patrick Kibbe said was wielded as a weapon: An umbrella that an investigator needed a special scale to weigh because it was less than one pound. For months, Trump administration officials have cited violence against federal law enforcement officers carrying out the president's deportation campaign as justification for aggressive tactics, including threats to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines."

"The Department of Homeland Security has touted a staggering figure, claiming a 1,000% increase in assaults against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But a Times analysis of court records related to assaults on federal law enforcement in Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Ore., Chicago and Washington, D.C., shows the majority of the alleged attacks resulted in no injury to an agent."

"In roughly 42% of the cases The Times reviewed, federal law enforcement officers were either shoved, spat on or flailed at, or had water bottles thrown at them, according to court affidavits. During the umbrella assault trial in October, prosecutors provided no evidence of any injuries. In L.A. and across the country, defendants accused of assaulting federal officers have won acquittals or had charges dropped."

Federal prosecutors presented an umbrella claimed to have been used as a sword to assault a federal officer; the umbrella weighed less than one pound. Administration officials cited violence against federal law enforcement during deportation operations to justify aggressive tactics, including threats to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines, and DHS claimed a 1,000% increase in assaults against ICE agents. Court records from Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Chicago and Washington, D.C. show the majority of alleged attacks resulted in no injury. About 42% involved shoving, spitting, flailing or water bottles being thrown. Many cases ended in dismissals, acquittals or deportations, and none in the review resulted in a conviction at trial.

Read at Los Angeles Times