Justice Department moves to dismiss charges against LA man accused of giving ICE protesters face shields

The U.S. Department of Justice moved to dismiss charges against a Los Angeles man arrested by the FBI for allegedly giving face shields to Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters.

Federal agents arrested Alejandro Theodoro Orellana on June 12 during an early morning raid in East L.A. Following the arrest, Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI field office in LA, said, "Alejandro was providing masks and face shields to violent rioters."

U.S Attorney Bill Essayli used Orellana's arrest as an example of efforts to arrest and identify people involved in "organizing and/or supporting civil disorder in Los Angeles," in a post to X on June 12. 

"Protesting is not a crime," Orellana said after the charges were dropped. "Protecting yourself and your community from police violence and draconian deportation policies is not a crime."

Orellana faced two felony counts related to civil unrest. He faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison if convicted as charged. A judge ordered him to be released on a $5,000 bond a day after his arrest. 

"Just reinforces that they really have nothing," Orellana said. "These are all fabricated cases used to persecute political opponents of the Trump administration."

Demonstrations against ICE popped up throughout Southern California in early June after federal agents ramped up immigration raids in L.A. County. At times, the protests turned violent as demonstrators and law enforcement clashed in the streets, most notably in downtown L.A. 

"I'm more emboldened now than ever because I don't want what happened to me to happen to somebody else," Orellana said. "It's probably wishful thinking. This is probably going to happen again, maybe to me."

CBS News Los Angeles contacted Essayli's office for comment on the dismissal. They said they had no comment.