Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have taken steps to throw out the criminal case against a prominent California labor union leader who was arrested while demonstrating against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles filed a motion Monday seeking to dismiss the case against David Huerta, who serves as president of Service Employees International Union California — an organization with more than 750,000 members, including janitors, security officers, and other workers. Prosecutors indicated the case will be permanently withdrawn within weeks, provided Huerta continues to abide by the conditions of his pretrial release and avoids further legal trouble.
In a statement, Huerta described being tackled, pepper-sprayed, and detained while exercising what he called his constitutional right to protest. He characterized the charges against him as part of a larger effort to misuse the legal system.
“There was never a real case, only an attempt to punish and silence me for exercising my constitutional rights,” Huerta said. “I will keep exercising my constitutional rights and protest every abuse this administration commits, and I will keep working to build a country that treats immigrant families and all workers with the dignity they deserve.”
The Justice Department had previously reduced the original felony obstruction charge to a misdemeanor before deciding to seek a full dismissal. The retreat from this prosecution is the latest in a series of courtroom difficulties the department has faced nationally in cases involving people accused of assaulting or obstructing federal officers during immigration-related protests.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles stated that the department does not arrest individuals for peaceful protest. Officials noted that Huerta had been charged with interfering with a judicial search warrant and had complied with his bond conditions for more than a year.
“Pursuant to an agreement entered into with our office, if Mr. Huerta continues to comply with his pretrial release terms, we expect the criminal case against him to be fully dismissed by the end of next month,” the office said in a statement.
Huerta was taken into custody in June 2025 while protesting outside a Los Angeles business where federal agents were conducting an investigation into suspected immigration violations. The arrest happened during a period of widespread demonstrations against federal immigration enforcement — unrest significant enough that President Donald Trump took the unusual step of deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles.
According to authorities, Huerta sat down in front of a vehicle gate and encouraged other protesters to walk in circles in an effort to block law enforcement from entering or exiting. When an officer directed him to leave and physically moved him out of the path of a vehicle, Huerta pushed back.
The arrest drew national attention. Union leaders and immigration advocates staged rallies in cities across the country calling for his release, and Huerta became a symbol of resistance to the administration’s immigration crackdown. Senior Democratic lawmakers responded as well — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and California’s two Democratic senators sent a letter to federal officials demanding answers about the arrest, and California Sen. Adam Schiff attended Huerta’s bond hearing.
“It is deeply troubling that a U.S. citizen, union leader, and upstanding member of the Los Angeles community continues to be detained by the federal government for exercising his rights to observe immigration enforcement,” the senators wrote.
When the case was first announced, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, declared that it made no difference who was protesting — “if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted.” Prosecutors initially charged Huerta with felony obstruction before downgrading it to a misdemeanor in October. That same month, a judge disqualified Essayli from several cases, ruling that the Trump appointee had remained in his acting role as U.S. attorney longer than the law permits. Essayli, a former California state legislator, now holds the title of first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.
Huerta’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Marilyn Bednarski, said the charges against their client lacked any legal foundation.
“This case, like others, sought to silence criticism of the administration’s improper immigration actions. Today’s filing is proof that David and other critics will not be silenced,” the attorneys said in a statement.
