Two women from Southern California and one from Colorado face federal charges alleging they pursued an ICE agent by car through the streets of Los Angeles and posted the officer’s home address on social media, the Justice Department announced Friday.
The women — Cynthia Raygoza, 37, of Riverside; Sandra Carmona Samane, 25, of Panaroma City; and Ashleigh Brown, 38, of Aurora, Colorado — have been charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of publicly disclosing the personal information of a federal agent.
According to the indictment, the defendants live-streamed on Instagram as they followed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee from the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles to the agent’s home — and encouraged viewers to share the stream.
Prosecutors contend the defendants used Instagram accounts titled “ice_out_of_la,” among other names, to stream their actions.
Upon arriving at the victim’s home, the defendants shouted to bystanders that their “neighbor is ICE,” “la migra lives here” and “ICE lives on your street and you should know,” the Justice Department alleges.
The women also publicly disclosed on social media the federal employee’s home address and told viewers, “Come on down,” the indictment alleges.
If convicted as charged, the defendants could each face up to 10 years behind bars, federal prosecutors noted.
Brown is charged in a separate case with assault on a federal officer, authorities said. Law enforcement is currently searching for Raygoza.
Arraignments for Brown and Samane are scheduled for Tuesday and Oct. 9, respectively.
“Our brave federal agents put their lives on the line every day to keep our nation safe,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “The conduct of these defendants are deeply offensive to law enforcement officers and their families. If you threaten, dox or harm in any manner one of our agents or employees, you will face prosecution and prison time.”