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US veteran charged with 'conspiracy' over ICE protest refuses to plead guilty
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/us-army-veteran-ice-protest-trialThe right to protest is "fundamentally American", says Bajun Mavalwalla who awaits trial and faces six years in prison
This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center
A US military veteran arrested on federal conspiracy charges after participating in a June 2025 protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told the Guardian he refuses to plead guilty and is ready to face justice.
The right to protest is "supposed to be fundamentally American", said Bajun Mavalwalla, who walked foot patrols as US army sergeant in the Horn of Panjwai, the birthplace of the Taliban and one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
"It's among the rights that when I joined the military, I thought I was joining to protect," he said. "You can't do it violently. You can't do it in a way that harms other people, but you have a right to stand up for what you believe in."
Mavalwalla, 36, faces six years in prison, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine for conspiring to "impede or injure a federal officer" when he joined other demonstrators who sought to block the transport of two Venezuelan immigrants who were arrested by ICE at a routine immigration hearing in Spokane, Washington, in June 2025.
. . .
The right to protest is "supposed to be fundamentally American", said Bajun Mavalwalla, who walked foot patrols as US army sergeant in the Horn of Panjwai, the birthplace of the Taliban and one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
"It's among the rights that when I joined the military, I thought I was joining to protect," he said. "You can't do it violently. You can't do it in a way that harms other people, but you have a right to stand up for what you believe in."
Mavalwalla, 36, faces six years in prison, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine for conspiring to "impede or injure a federal officer" when he joined other demonstrators who sought to block the transport of two Venezuelan immigrants who were arrested by ICE at a routine immigration hearing in Spokane, Washington, in June 2025.
. . .