Overview

• Afghanistan war veteran Bajun Mavalwalla II faces a federal count of conspiracy to impede or injure officers tied to a June 11 action outside an ICE facility in Spokane, according to the indictment.
• Prosecutors allege he and others blocked a driveway and pushed against officers after orders to disperse; he has pleaded not guilty and has no criminal record.
• Although not arrested at the scene, he was taken into custody in an early-morning FBI operation about a month later, an arrest captured on cell phone video at his home.
• Two days before the indictment, acting U.S. attorney Richard Barker resigned and later said he was grateful he never had to sign an indictment he did not believe in.
• Barker’s successor, Trump-appointed Pete Serrano, has no prosecutorial experience and has called Jan. 6 defendants “political prisoners,” a background that critics say raises concerns about political influence over the case.