It is day two of the trial against a group of immigration activists who blocked two prison buses on their way to Operation Streamline proceedings in October 2013.

Their lawyer, Margo Cowan, has filed a motion to dismiss because she argues the state does not have enough evidence to support any of them.

The defendants, 12 of whom are in court today, are accused of criminal trespassing, obstructing government operations, obstructing prosecution in the second degree, resisting arrest, obstructing a highway, disorderly conduct, among others.

In the case of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, Cowan reminded the judge that many law enforcement witnesses testified none of the defendants were violent, so those two accusations can go. Regarding obstructing a highway, Cowan said it was the police who decided to block the second lane of the I-10 frontage road, not the defendants. “Had the police not blocked the second lane, traffic would have passed safely.” The two buses the activists stopped and chained themselves to on Oct. 11, 2013 only occupied one lane.

But the prosecution, Deputy County Attorneys Sabrina Lochner and Rebecca Mueller, said there is more than enough evidence from cops, detectives and the bus drivers to know the defendants are guilty of all charges. “Everything the defendants did that day was disruptive,” Mueller said. “The stopping of those buses themselves was reckless, not only was it reckless to stop them in the middle of the street while traffic is coming…reckless to continue to do it,” and chain themselves around the tires. 

Again, she said one of the bus drivers was so scared that he reached for his gun. He didn’t know if the white SUV belonged to the drug cartel or if it was a terrorist attack. The driver wasn’t expecting a disruption that morning. The Hon. Susan Bacal joked that with that description trick or treaters can probably be charged with disorderly conduct, too, because it’s a bunch of people coming to your house and they scare you. 

Everyone is back in court at 1:30 p.m., and it is the defendants turn to speak. All along, they’ve said they’d like to put Streamline under the magnifying glass, the undocumented workers, fathers, mothers going through the proceedings, make the trial about “the people on the bus not under the bus,” as defendant Steve Johnston told me yesterday. 

This article appears in Mar 12-18, 2015.

I was born and raised in Guatemala City, Guatemala. I moved to Tucson about 10 years ago. Since I was old enough to enjoy reading, I developed an interest in writing, and telling stories through different...

6 replies on “Attorney for Immigration Activists in Operation Streamline Trial Asks Judge to Dismiss Charges”

  1. You broke the law, now suffer the consequences. I am tired of this country violating the Constitution by picking which laws they are and are not going to enforce.

  2. The way I read the violations, violence has nothing to do with it. Criminal law breakers can break laws without being violent.

    We can not allow criminals to run wild in the streets and put our citizens at risk.

  3. This defense attorney sounds like she has had a few hits of the MJ train. Her arguments sound like their just thrown out there because she knows the obamanation crony judge will side with her. What a farce. It is time to end the obmanination reign of anti-American terror.

  4. Illegal is illegal and those who support illegal activities and/or imped the enforcement of laws are themselves criminals and must be treated accordingly. We cannot be selective on which laws are enforced.

  5. But we can be selective of which races are made illegal? Which are arrested and imprisoned? Impose immigration quotas on countries based on wealth or skin color? That’s a thin argument, BB. Illegal is only illegal because someone selected a target and created a law to hit it with…

  6. Cascabel,

    Thanks for the Al Sharpton type logic to a serious problem!

    I am of Mexican descent and married to a wonderful Latina. Further, I have lived in Mexico, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru and Chile. Spanish is my mother language, but I am an American by birth and by loyalty. Thus, I believe I may have a better grasp upon the drivers at work here. It is simple disregard for the law and belief in a corruption-based system, such as they know in their home countries.

    Illegal is Illegal; if we do not enforce the laws, we will become like them. Believe me, I have lived in these places and I do not want America like any of them; even the best Chile.

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