A Los Angeles man who pleaded guilty to an assault charge involving a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer during an anti-immigration enforcement protest last summer in Paramount will be spending one year on probation.
Christian Damian Cerna-Camacho, 29, pleaded guilty in December in downtown Los Angeles to a misdemeanor charge of simple assault, according to court papers.
He served eight days in federal custody after his arrest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Federal officials initially said Cerna-Camacho “punched” the officer — identified in court documents by the initials E.M. — but the allegation was highly disputed at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, and the defendant denied actually striking the officer, according to Scott D. Tenley, Cerna-Camacho’s attorney. Tenley said his client pleaded to misdemeanor simple assault without physical contact.
Cerna-Camacho admitted having “intentionally swung at victim E.M.’s face while E.M. was performing his duties and attempting to prevent protesters from entering federal property,” according to the plea agreement filed in L.A. federal court.
As part of his plea, Cerna-Camacho agreed to submit a handwritten note of apology to E.M.
When agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security tried to detain Cerna-Camacho days after the June 11 protest, he attempted to flee in his vehicle.
Agents used their car to chase Cerna-Camacho’s vehicle, pinning it between two unmarked law enforcement vehicles on Whittier Boulevard in Boyle Heights.
Officials said the defendant’s car contained a woman passenger and two children in the back seat when the vehicle was pinned.
DHS released a statement after the arrest explaining that the operation was a “targeted arrest” of a man described as a “violent rioter who punched a CBP officer,” referring to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“This was no hit and run,” the department posted on social media. “This was a targeted arrest of a violent rioter who punched a CBP officer. When Homeland Security Investigations tried to arrest (Cerna-Camacho) for the assault, he attempted to flee. He was ultimately arrested and taken into custody.”
DHS released video footage in June taken from a nearby business showing Cerna-Camacho’s arrest.