Colorado Immigration Agent Charged with Assaulting Protester Outside ICE Facility
An immigration officer has been formally charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief following a state investigation into his treatment of a protester during an October demonstration in Durango, Colorado. The incident, captured on video by bystanders, shows a masked agent grabbing and dragging Franci Stagi across a street outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.
Video Evidence and Allegations of Excessive Force
Videos recorded during the protest, which was organised over the detention of three Colombian asylum seekers, depict the agent forcefully handling Stagi. The protester alleges that the officer, identified as Nicholas Rice, pulled her by the hair and restrained her in a chokehold. Stagi, a retired hypnotherapist, stated she was filming Rice outside the ICE facility when he struck her hand, causing her to drop her cellphone. She then reached for his shoulder to gain his attention, after which she claims he placed her in a chokehold and threw her down an embankment.
Stagi reported ongoing pain in her arm from the incident, affecting everyday activities such as putting on a jacket. However, court documents charging Rice with third-degree assault for causing bodily injury do not specify how she was injured or mention a chokehold. Rice also faces a criminal mischief charge for allegedly damaging Stagi's cellphone.
State Investigation and Legal Context
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation opened a probe into the incident at the request of Durango Police Chief Brice Current, who raised concerns about potential violations of state law. This request is considered unusual, if not unprecedented, highlighting the seriousness with which local authorities are treating the case. Colorado is among several states that have banned or sharply restricted the use of chokeholds and neck restraints by law enforcement since the death of George Floyd in 2020.
Colorado lawmakers approved a ban on chokeholds as part of broader police reform legislation within a month of Floyd's death, overriding more limited restrictions enacted four years earlier. Chokeholds have been a focal point of public discourse on excessive force since Eric Garner's death in New York in 2014, with his dying words, "I can't breathe," becoming a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Federal Response and Broader Implications
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which launched its own internal investigation, acknowledged a request for comment but did not immediately respond to questions about the charges. Court documents do not list an attorney representing Rice. Federal law enforcement officers enjoy broad legal protections when acting in their official duties, and the Justice Department has recently taken a hard line against state efforts to arrest or prosecute federal agents.
Late last year, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that arrests of federal officers performing their duties would be "illegal and futile," citing the Constitution's Supremacy Clause and federal law. Legal experts note these protections are significant but not absolute, and the Supremacy Clause does not provide blanket immunity.
Stagi expressed disappointment that Rice was charged with less serious crimes, as the assault charge is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum sentence of just under a year in jail. She hopes the prosecution sends a message that immigration officers cannot use excessive force indiscriminately. "It did open my eyes to how quickly I can be under someone else's control, and it's frightening," said Stagi, whose legal name is Anne Francesca Stagi.
The case underscores ongoing tensions between state and federal authorities over police conduct reforms. A federal package of reforms that would have banned chokeholds nationwide passed the U.S. House in 2021 but failed to reach then-President Joe Biden's desk, named in honour of George Floyd. While some states have enacted bans, sweeping changes have faced resistance, leaving a patchwork of regulations across the country.
