Community organizer Justice Forral pleaded not guilty to six felony counts of “unlawful imprisonment” on June 25 at an arraignment in Spokane County Superior Court. The charges stem from a June 11 immigration protest at which hundreds of Spokanites demanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents release two asylum seekers they’d detained who were in the country legally.
Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren set a trial date for September 15.
Police arrested 31 people that day, but Forral and another protester Erin Lang — both queer — were charged with felonies. Both have no prior criminal history. (Lang's arraignment was moved to July 2 at the request of the defense.)
The charges specifically focus on allegations that Forral constructed a barrier at the protest blocking the gate through which ICE agents wanted to transport the men they’d detained, presumably to process for deportation. The number of unlawful imprisonment charges has fluctuated since they were arrested, but is now settled at six.
If Forral is found guilty, they could face years in prison, according to Kevin Curtis of the Spokane defense firm Winston & Cashatt, part of the team representing Forral. But a felony conviction can carry “collateral consequences,” like ineligibility for certain jobs, housing opportunities or to purchase guns. Carl Hueber, also of Winston & Cashatt, and Karen Lindholdt are also representing Forral. Many local lawyers, including those three, have volunteered their time to represent Forral and other protesters who are facing charges.
“There are many others who have said that we are outraged by the violation of civil liberties that we are seeing and the reach for the federal government, and we are going to vigorously defend justice as this case moves forward,” Lindholdt said.
She was referring to dozens of arrests — many of which reportedly caused minor injuries as police slammed protesters to the ground, dragged them across pavement and cuffed their wrists too tightly — made June 11 and June 14. The former day, on which Forral was arrested for the charges they faced June 25, police deployed pepper balls and less-than-lethal munitions, leaving large bruises on a number of protesters.
On June 14, thousands of Spokanites marched in the No Kings march, a broad protest against the policies of President Donald Trump that also took place in cities across the nation. Eleven people were arrested as the march stretched into the night. Police deployed pepper balls and smoke grenades to disperse the crowd that night too.
Forral’s plea June 25 was for the original batch of charges brought immediately after the June 11 protest. It is a separate case from a second charge brought days later.
About a dozen people showed up to support Forral during the June 25 arraignment. Standing in the hallway after entering their plea, Forral announced a fundraiser event for their legal costs at the Grain Shed tonight at 7 pm.
2 protests, 2 arrests, separate cases
Forral, who’d had an initial court hearing for their charges June 13, was arrested a second time the following day on suspicion of assault in the third degree stemming from the first protest. The Spokane County Sheriff issued the warrant for the second arrest alleging Forral had knocked off a deputy’s hat.
Lindholt said that case is being litigated separately.
Forral was released on their own recognizance the day after their second arrest. They appeared in court, wearing a newsprint dress, on June 17 for the assault charge. Dozens of supporters filled a small courtroom on the Spokane County courthouse’s fourth floor to the point the judge said spectators could sit in the jury gallery.
“I didn’t think this is what they meant by ‘jury of my peers’,” Forral joked before the judge entered the courtroom.
The judge scheduled Forral for an arraignment for the assault charge and released them on several conditions, including that Forral maintain contact with their attorney, Morgan Maxey, attend all court dates and not return to the scene of the protest. Maxey specifically requested Forral be allowed to visit family in Stevens County, which the judge granted.
In remarks on the front steps of the courthouse after the short June 17 hearing, Forral emphasized that the protests and the solidarity of the community supporting them at court was about collective action.
“ It's not us as individuals. It's about our collective rights. It's about everything we do together. And if they want to make me infamous — for whatever — well, it shows how much one person can do,” Forral said to the group of supporters.
The June 11 protest formed when former City Council President Ben Stuckart called for people to come to the ICE facility to protest two young men, Cesar Alexander Alvarez Perez and Joswar Slater Rodriguez Torres, being detained after a routine check in.
Hundreds of people eventually showed up and several law enforcement agencies, including Spokane Police Department, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and Spokane Valley Police Department, appeared in tactical gear, gas masks and armored police vehicles. The police escalated what had for hours been an overall peaceful protest, shutting down Washington Street and several other roads near the Cataldo Avenue ICE facility the protest focused on.
The Spokane County Sheriff detailed the assault allegation in a June 16 press release, alleging that during the June 11 protest, “a uniformed deputy at the location had his head grabbed by a male suspect who ripped/knocked his uniform hat off. Due to the agitated and volatile situation, the deputy could not safely arrest the suspect, who remained unidentified, for the felony assault.”
On Facebook days after the second arrest, Forral wrote of their actions, “I am a Human Rights Commissioner for the City of Spokane. Inside the ICE building we knew the human rights of at least 2 individuals were being violated by ICE agents. Whose job is it to stand up for Our Human Rights, if not our federal agents, local police, judges, and politicians? Who is left? I, like many others that day, took action to protect people from harm and to stand for the rights of us all.
“They can scapegoat one person but they cannot scapegoat the movement for change, and the demand that Our Human Rights be protected.”
