District Attorney Bill Hicks said he had managed to secure the indictments against the illegal immigrants.
A 12-person grand jury in Texas has indicted more than 140 illegal immigrants on misdemeanor rioting charges following an alleged attempt to breach the Southern border earlier this month, District Attorney Bill Hicks announced on Tuesday.
Authorities say the April 12 incident in El Paso began when someone in the group cut through a razor wire barrier placed along the U.S.-Mexico border by Texas National Guard soldiers.
The area where the border was allegedly breached was near a high school and highway, according to reports.
No injuries were reported during the alleged breach.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Mr. Hicks said he had managed to secure the indictments against the illegal immigrants after asking the grand jury to review whether or not Texas Department of Public Safety troopers had probable cause to arrest them.
Ultimately, the jury signed off on the indictments, he said.
The ruling came just one day after a county court judge threw out the cases after finding there was no probable cause for the arresting the illegal immigrants.
“We took all 141 of those cases to a grand jury this morning,” Mr. Hicks told reporters, according to the El Paso Times. “Because the judge’s ruling was limited to the complaint affidavit in front of him, it allowed us to take the broader case to the grand jury.
“We presented the case as a whole. We presented videotape evidence of what happened. The grand jurors believed there was, in fact, probable cause,” he continued.
If convicted, the illegal immigrants could each face up to 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000
Judge Dismisses Charges
The indictment came after Judge Ruben Morales threw out state misdemeanor charges against the illegal immigrants, citing a lack of probable cause provided by the state.
A public defender representing the illegal immigrants also argued there was not enough evidence and accused authorities of attempting to arrest and harass the illegal immigrants.
