Authored by  Bryan Hyde via American Greatness,

Three defendants who took part in an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest last year are headed to federal trial on May 18 after a judge denied their motions to dismiss the case.

The defendants were part of a June 2025 protest near an ICE facility in Spokane, Washington, where they allegedly tried to block and damage law enforcement vehicles in response to the detainment of two Venezuelan men.

The protest against the Trump administration’s immigration agenda coincided with demonstrations in Seattle, Portland, and other major cities.

Just the News reports that the three defendants are part of a group of nine protestors who were arrested and later indicted by the Trump administration on federal conspiracy charges.

Six of the defendants took plea deals, including former Spokane City Council president Ben Stuckart, but the remaining three protestors, Jac Archer, Justice Forral, and Bajun Malvalwalla, chose to file a motion to dismiss their charges as protected free speech.

Malvawalla, a US Army veteran, has alleged that he was assaulted by federal agents during his arrest.

Attorneys for the defendants argued that their clients’ actions were constitutionally protected and challenged the indictment’s sufficiency.

The Dept. of Justice (DOJ) called the motion “meritless” and argued that the demonstration went beyond a constitutionally protected protest, alleging that the defendants blocked a transport van from leaving the federal facility, deflated its tires, and piled objects in front of the exits to stop the agents.​

According to Just the News, a pretrial conference is scheduled on May 5 and the court will also consider motions that day by acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche seeking to exclude certain defense arguments and evidence at trial.

Blanche specifically wants the court to exclude arguments about whether the demonstration was a constitutionally protected protest, and references to other major immigration-related protests.

He also is asking the court to reject claims of political influence, including former acting US Attorney Richard Baker, who resigned days before the indictment, a well as arguments that two Venezuelan immigrants whose transport sparked the protest were here legally.

Liz Moore with the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane is calling on residents of Spokane “To make sure that immigrant neighbors and loved ones in our community are not isolated and targeted and they experience support.”