A South Los Angeles couple are facing some serious trouble with the law after allegedly using their car to try to interfere with and chase down federal immigration agents who were serving search warrants earlier this year. Gustavo Torres, 28, and Kiara Jaime-Flores, 34, have been hit with charges of conspiracy to impede or injure officers, federal prosecutors revealed on Wednesday. Activist groups that focus on immigration raids and educate people about their legal rights are calling the arrests a scare tactic by the Trump administration to discourage activism. Despite numerous attempts, the couple could not be reached for comment, and it remains unclear if they have legal representation.
The incident that led to these charges occurred on Feb. 28 when agents from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection were carrying out search warrants in South Los Angeles. As per a federal affidavit accompanying the charging documents, a small crowd had gathered outside a home in the Florence neighborhood. At 9:32 a.m., three federal law enforcement vehicles left the scene with what was described as “evidence,” according to court documents. There was no information provided on whether anyone from the home was taken by the federal agents. An agent captured Jaime-Flores standing alongside a Honda Fit outside the residence as they left. The same vehicle blocked the agents’ cars at 61st Street and Broadway, but they managed to maneuver around it.
While making their escape, Torres reportedly cut in front of one of the government vehicles and braked aggressively, as outlined in the affidavit. Subsequently, he pulled into a gas station and tailed the agents for about two miles. Surveillance footage from a local business helped federal agents identify the license plate of the Honda Fit. On May 5, Jaime-Flores was questioned by a federal agent during a traffic stop and admitted to driving the Honda Fit with an expired driver’s license. She even inquired if her questioning was related to an immigration incident, indicating her awareness of the situation. During the interview, she confessed that she and her boyfriend, later identified as Torres, went to the Florence neighborhood residence after seeing social media posts about the activity. She mentioned that the couple opposed the actions of the immigration agents.
Jaime-Flores was taken into custody and questioned by an agent, during which she contacted Torres and urged him to meet with the agent, claiming they had done nothing wrong. Torres did meet with the agent at a Santa Fe Springs business, where he admitted to his involvement in blocking the immigration vehicles and driving aggressively around them. He justified his actions as a response to a potential unjustified removal of someone’s family member by immigration. Torres expressed regret for his behavior, acknowledging it as a mistake he wouldn’t repeat. The couple is set to make an appearance in federal court later today. Ron Gochez, a volunteer with Unión del Barrio, a group that monitors Los Angeles streets and alerts immigrant communities about federal raids, emphasized the importance of educating the community about their rights.
Not really sure why this matters, but Gochez mentioned that volunteers have been following immigration officers due to reports of plainclothes federal agents apprehending undocumented individuals without proper identification or warrants. Even though he doesn’t know Torres or Jaime-Flores personally, he remains dedicated to his work of informing immigrant communities and refuses to be deterred by their arrests. “We will absolutely not stop trying to inform the community about their legal rights,” he emphasized. “We’re going to continue to organize.”
