SPOKANE, Wash – The first of several people charged in connection with an ICE protest in Spokane last summer has entered a guilty plea to the charges.
Mikki Hatfield pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to impede a federal officer.
As part of the plea, federal prosecutors and Hatfield came to a deferred sentencing agreement.
Hatfield could face up to six years in prison. However, Hatfield will check in with the court in June and if they are following the court’s guidelines, Hatfield will withdraw the guilty plea to the felony charge and plead to a misdemeanor instead.
The sentencing would be done after that.
Hatfield was part of a protest at Spokane’s ICE facility in June. It began as a small group, protesting the detainment and eventual deportation of asylum seekers.
The protest grew to hundreds of people and prosecutors charged Hatfield and eight others with impeding, and in some cases trying to harm, federal agents.
Prosecutors say Hatfield and others blocked exits to keep federal officers and detainees from leaving the facility.
The plea agreement document also says Hatfield and others could be seen on camera picking up smoke canisters police had thrown and throwing them back towards officers.
Prosecutors want the defendants to pay more than $10,000 in restitution, but recommend that the amount of divided among the indicted protesters.
Several of the others charged in the case plan to change their pleas in the coming days.
That includes former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart. He’s accused of organizing the protest, as he was taking legal responsibility for one of the asylum-seekers who was detained.
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