US Army Veteran Faces Six Years in Prison for ICE Protest Conspiracy Charges
Bajun Mavalwalla, a 36-year-old US military veteran, has been charged with federal conspiracy for his participation in a June 2025 protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Spokane, Washington. In his first interview since his arrest by the FBI in July, Mavalwalla told the Guardian he refuses to plead guilty and is prepared to face trial.
The Right to Protest as a Fundamental American Value
"The right to protest is supposed to be fundamentally American," said Mavalwalla, who served as a US Army sergeant conducting foot patrols in the Horn of Panjwai, one of the most dangerous regions of Afghanistan's Kandahar Province. "It's among the rights that when I joined the military, I thought I was joining to protect. You can't do it violently. You can't do it in a way that harms other people, but you have a right to stand up for what you believe in."
Mavalwalla faces six years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine for allegedly conspiring to "impede or injure a federal officer." The charges stem from his involvement in a demonstration where protesters sought to block the transport of two Venezuelan immigrants who had been arrested by ICE during a routine immigration hearing.
Unusual Federal Prosecution and Resignation of Justice Department Official
The June 11 protest was confrontational at times, resulting in damage to a government vehicle as demonstrators linked arms to face masked federal agents. While more than two dozen people were arrested at the scene, Mavalwalla was not among them. A month later, federal prosecutors took the unusual step of bringing conspiracy charges against nine demonstrators, including Mavalwalla.
Legal experts have characterized this prosecution as an escalation in the Trump administration's crackdown on first amendment rights to free speech. The case prompted Richard Barker, who was serving as acting US attorney in eastern Washington, to resign rather than sign the indictment against Mavalwalla and eight others.
"Nobody was hurt," Barker stated. "None of the agents were hurt and none of the protesters were hurt either." Barker, who had worked for the justice department for 11 years focusing on prosecuting drug smugglers and human traffickers, explained his decision: "I didn't feel in this case that a conspiracy charge that would carry a six-year term of incarceration was true to who I was or wanted to be as a federal prosecutor."
Growing Pattern of Conspiracy Charges Against Protesters
Since Mavalwalla's arrest, the use of federal conspiracy charges has become more commonplace. Prosecutors have filed similar charges against demonstrators in Chicago and investigated Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for the same alleged crime. Walz condemned the probe as an "authoritarian tactic" in a social media post.
Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort have also been charged with conspiracy to violate religious freedom stemming from their coverage of a protest inside a Minnesota church. Both have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
Mavalwalla's Defense and Family Support
In his interview, Mavalwalla maintained that he never conspired with anyone. "Conspiracy requires people communicating, planning it out and saying, yeah, we're going to do this, and this is why we're going to do it, and this is how we're going to do it," he explained. "None of that happened, at least not as far as I know. I wasn't part of any of it."
Six of Mavalwalla's eight co-defendants have pleaded guilty, striking deals with federal prosecutors that acknowledge they conspired to impede ICE officers in exchange for 18 months probation. Mavalwalla, however, remains steadfast in his refusal to admit to a crime he says he did not commit.
His family, all of whom have military backgrounds, support his decision. "We're not weak people. We're willing to fight for what's right," said his girlfriend, Katelyn Gaston, who deployed as a medic in Afghanistan. "It's a first amendment issue."
Mavalwalla's father, Bajun Ray Mavalwalla, a former US Army intelligence officer who earned three Bronze Stars in Iraq and Afghanistan, added: "My son is incredibly brave." Inspired by his son's arrest and concerned about what he sees as the misuse of government authority, the elder Mavalwalla announced in January that he is running for Congress, challenging Spokane's Republican incumbent, Michael Baumgartner.
Legal Proceedings and Broader Implications
Mavalwalla's trial is scheduled to begin on May 18 in federal court in Spokane, with Judge Rebecca Pennell, a former public defender appointed by President Joe Biden, presiding. As he awaits trial, Mavalwalla continues to speak out about immigration issues.
"Every single person here, except for the people who are indigenous to the Americas, is an immigrant or comes from immigrants," he said. "What is America without immigrants?"
The Department of Justice issued a statement to the Guardian saying it "respects the first amendment and the right of Americans to peacefully protest, but will never tolerate the obstruction of lawful immigration operations or putting federal agents in harm's way."
This case highlights ongoing tensions between protest rights and federal law enforcement priorities, with significant implications for first amendment protections in the United States.
