Three women indicted for livestreaming chase of ICE agent to his home and posting address online
Indictment alleges they followed an ICE agent from his workplace, livestreamed the pursuit, and published his home address.
A federal grand jury indicted three women on charges of conspiracy and publicly disclosing the personal information of a federal agent after they allegedly tailed a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent from his workplace, livestreamed the pursuit on social media and posted the agent’s home address online.
The indictment identifies Cynthia Raygoza, 37, of Riverside, California; Ashleigh Brown, 38, of Aurora, Colorado; and Sandra Carmona Samane, 25, of Panorama City, California, as defendants. They are charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of publicly disclosing the personal information of a federal agent. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced the charges on Friday.
According to the indictment, on August 28 the women followed the ICE agent from the Civic Center in downtown Los Angeles to his home, livestreaming the pursuit on Instagram accounts identified as "ice_out_of_la," "defendmesoamericanculture," and "corn_maiden_design." Prosecutors allege they provided directions to the agent’s location and urged viewers to share the feed. Outside the home, they shouted to neighbors that their "neighbor is ICE," that "la migra lives here," and that "ICE lives on your street, and you should know," the indictment states. They allegedly posted the agent’s address online with the message: "Come on down."
Brown and Samane were arrested. Brown also faces separate charges of assaulting a federal officer and remains in custody without bond, while Samane was released on a $5,000 bond. Raygoza remains at large, according to the indictment. Arraignments are slated for Sept. 30 for Brown and Oct. 9 for Samane. Raygoza’s status was not specified as to whether she has been apprehended.
If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in federal prison per count.
The development comes as one ICE detainee was killed and two others were injured Wednesday when a gunman opened fire on an agency facility in Dallas. DHS data show attacks on ICE agents had risen sharply, with DHS reporting an 830% increase in such attacks since January.
Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement that "Our brave federal agents put their lives on the line every day to keep our nation safe. If you threaten, dox, or harm in any manner one of our agents or employees, you will face prosecution and prison time."