"A Los Angeles protester charged with assaulting a border patrol agent in June was acquitted on Wednesday after US immigration officials were accused in court of lying about the incident. The not guilty verdict for Brayan Ramos-Brito is a major setback for the Donald Trump-appointed US attorney in southern California and for Gregory Bovino, a border patrol chief who has become a key figure in Trump's immigration crackdown."
"Border patrol and prosecutors alleged that Ramos-Brito struck an agent during a chaotic protest on 7 June in the south Los Angeles county city of Paramount outside a complex where the Department of Homeland Security has an office. But footage from a witness, which the Guardian published days after the incident, showed an agent forcefully shoving Ramos-Brito. The footage did not capture the demonstrator assaulting the officer."
"Bovino testified earlier in the day and faced a tough cross-examination from public defenders. Bovino was one of four border patrol agents who testified as witnesses, but was the only one to say he saw the alleged assault by Ramos-Brito, according to the LA Times. Videos played in court captured the agent shoving Ramos-Brito, sending him flying backward, and showed the protester marching back toward the agent, the paper reported."
Brayan Ramos-Brito, a 29-year-old US citizen, was acquitted of a misdemeanor assault charge after a jury found insufficient evidence that he struck a border patrol agent during a 7 June protest in Paramount, Los Angeles county. Video footage from a witness showed a border patrol agent forcefully shoving Ramos-Brito, but did not capture the protester assaulting the officer. The acquittal followed deliberations of just over an hour. Border patrol chief Gregory Bovino testified and was the only agent to claim he saw the alleged assault. Internal DHS reports contained multiple factual discrepancies that initially supported charges against five demonstrators.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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