A misdemeanor assault case against Brayan Ramos-Brito was the first to go to trial after dozens of people were accused of impeding or attacking federal agents during protests against immigration enforcement in Los Angeles.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/27651019

A protester was acquitted Wednesday of charges that he assaulted a federal agent during widespread protests against immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, just hours after one of the faces of President Trump’s enforcement policies took the stand to testify against him.

U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino — the brash agent who led a phalanx of military personnel into MacArthur Park this summer — was called as a witness Wednesday in a federal misdemeanor assault case against Brayan Ramos-Brito, who was accused of striking a federal agent.

Bovino, who flew in to testify from Chicago, the latest city targeted for an immigration enforcement surge, said he witnessed the alleged assault committed by Ramos-Brito in Paramount on June 7.

Bovino was questioned by the defense about previous comments he made referring to undocumented immigrants as “scum.”

The jury came back with the acquittal after a little over an hour of deliberations.