A federal jury in Spokane has convicted three people who helped trap ICE officers and their detainees for more than nine hours last summer.
The Department of Justice for the Eastern District of Washington announced that on May 28, 2026, a jury found Jac Archer, Justice Forral, and Bajun Mavalwalla II guilty of conspiring to impede law enforcement officers or injure property used in the execution of their duties.
The case ran eight days. The jury deliberated for over a day before returning guilty verdicts beyond a reasonable doubt.
The charge stems from a June 2025 standoff at an ICE facility in Spokane, where officers were blocked from moving two detainees toward a detention facility and immigration court near Tacoma.
Supporters branded the three the “Spokane 3.” But they were not the only ones in the crowd, and they were not the one who summoned it.
Jac Archer, Justice Forral and Bajun Mavalwalla II were convicted as a result of their own actions near downtown Spokane.
“The Spokane 3” got justice. What about the one that led them astray?
The Facebook post by former City Council President @BenStuckart— Barry Pruitt (@BarryWPruitt) May 30, 2026
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington laid out what the jury heard, including testimony that officers feared for their safety:
Spokane, WA – On May 28, 2026, a jury of twelve people from across the Eastern District of Washington convicted Defendants Jac Archer, Justice Forral, and Bajun Mavalwalla II of violating federal law by conspiring to impede law enforcement officers or injure property used in the execution of their duties.
After 8 days of trial and over a day of deliberations, the jury found Defendants guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of the crime.
Sentencing has not yet been set by United States District Judge Rebecca L. Pennell, who oversaw the trial.
In the summer of 2025, a federal Grand Jury made up of different members of this community returned an Indictment charging Archer, Forral, and Mavalwalla, along with six other Defendants with Conspiracy to Injure or Impede Officers of the United States.
The charges arose from an event at an ICE facility in Spokane in June 2025. That day, defendants and others prevented law enforcement officers from engaging in their official duties of transporting individuals from a detention facility in Spokane to a detention facility and the immigration court near Tacoma.
For more than nine hours that officers were denied the ability to transport the detainees.
The charged defendants and uncharged co-conspirators destroyed property, blocked exits to prevent officers from safely leaving with the detainees.
Several officers testified during the trial that they feared for their safety because of the actions taken by the defendants and other co-conspirators.
Sentencing has not been set by U.S. District Judge Rebecca L. Pennell, who oversaw the trial.
KHQ reported the courtroom and local reaction after the verdict:
The verdict is in. After a two week trial and two days of jury deliberations, Justice Forral, Jac Archer and Bajun Mavalwalla II were all found guilty of conspiracy to injure or impede federal officers.
After hours of deliberation on Wednesday and Thursday, the jury foreman delivered the verdicts to a crowded courtroom.
After the reading, strong emotions from the defendants and the gallery.
Several people, including Spokane City Councilwoman Sarah Dixit, appeared to cry, while others had their mouths open.
The charge of conspiracy to injure or impede a federal officer carries a prison term of up to 6 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
Following the verdict, about 50 gathered in the courtyard of the federal building for a press conference.
“The Jury was lied to,” Bajun Mavalwalla’s father, also named Bajun Mavalwalla, told the crowd.
Sarah Dixit also spoke about her experience protesting on June 11, describing how people brought snacks and water, saying the group was nonviolent.
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown issued the following statement regarding the verdict:
“Since the federal charges were filed, I have maintained this prosecution was politically motivated. It was meant to make an example out of people who disagreed with federal immigration policy.
“The right to peacefully protest and criticize the government is a cornerstone of our democracy.
“We cannot allow these verdicts to silence us.”
The next court fight is already on the calendar, with follow-up coverage noting that related local charges are still playing out.
Federal jury convicts protesters of conspiracy to injury federal agents at Washington ICE facility https://t.co/S0YtRUGv4a
— CompuChris (@compuchris) May 31, 2026
Nine people were charged in all. Six pleaded guilty before trial, leaving Archer, Forral, and Mavalwalla to face the jury.
Breitbart reported on how the crowd came together and who lit the fuse:
A Washington jury has convicted three protesters of federal conspiracy charges for trying to prevent federal officers from transporting two detained illegal immigrants from Spokane to Tacoma last June.
They face up to six years in prison and $250,000 in fines, according to a news report.
Jac Archer, Justice Forral and Bajun Mavalwalla II were convicted as a result of their actions near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility near downtown Spokane.
Supporters and others have dubbed them “the Spokane 3.”
The trio were among hundreds who responded to a Facebook post by former City Council President Ben Stuckart last summer that urged people to join him in blocking the immigration transfer bus.
A total of nine protesters, including Stuckart, were arrested on conspiracy charges.
Stuckart and five others took guilty pleas in exchange for reduced sentences.
“I feel awful about the guilty verdict.
I feel awful for Jac, Bajun and Justice and their families. I support those that took plea deals, and I support those that went to trial,” Stuckart wrote.
Bajun Mavalwalla, Sr., the father of one of the protesters and a congressional candidate, told the outlet that U.S. attorneys wanted to make an example of his son and called the prosecution “political and vindictive.”
Defense attorneys said they expect to appeal.
So the former Spokane City Council president who wrote the post that called hundreds into the street cut a deal. The three who answered the call now face years in prison.
That is the question conservatives in the area are now asking out loud after the verdict.
Blocking federal officers for nine hours is not a peaceful demonstration. Destroying property and trapping people who are doing their jobs is exactly the conduct federal conspiracy law was written to punish, and a jury of Eastern Washington residents agreed.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
