2 charged with chasing, trying to crash into immigration officers during South LA raid

ICE raids in South Los Angeles

Federal agents fanned out at several Los Angeles locations today. Homeland Security agents showing up at a home on Connecticut street, where activists also showed up, protesting their activities outside. 

LOS ANGELES - Two South Los Angeles residents were arrested this week for allegedly trying to injure a federal immigration officer during a recent raid. 

What we know:

Gustavo Torres, 28, and Kiara Jaime-Flores, 34, were arrested on Wednesday. They have been charged with conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, and are scheduled to appear before a judge on Wednesday.

February ICE raids

The backstory:

Torres and Jaime-Flores' arrests stem from an immigration raid at a home in South Los Angeles on Feb. 28. On that day, agents with Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol served warrants at four homes across LA, including one at a home in South Los Angeles.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ICE raid in LA? Homeland Security met by protesters

Demonstrators began protesting outside of the South LA home, chanting and holding up signs. The federal criminal complaint claimed that some of the protesters outside the home "directed hostile remarks at the agents." 

When the agents drove off, Torres and Jaime-Flores are accused of blocking them in with their car at the intersection of 61st Street and Broadway. After that, officials said the pair drove on the wrong side of the road, cut off the agents and slammed on the brakes, "which the agents believed was an attempt to cause a collision."

What they're saying:

"These defendants are charged with knowingly and recklessly putting federal agents’ lives in danger," United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in a press release. "Anyone who deliberately gets in the way of immigration officers doing their job will face criminal prosecution and the prospect of doing time in a federal prison cell."

What's next:

Torres and Jaime-Flores face up to six years in federal prison if convicted.