A grand jury in Texas has indicted more than 140 migrants on misdemeanor rioting charges following an alleged mass attempt to breach the U.S.-Mexico border, just a day after a judge dismissed the cases.
The incident, which occurred on April 12 in El Paso, involved no reported injuries but allegedly began when someone in the group cut through a razor wire barrier. Similar mass arrests followed a separate episode in the Texas border city in March.
The dismissal of charges on Monday by a county judge, citing insufficient probable cause, was swiftly countered by the grand jury’s decision. El Paso County District Attorney Bill Hicks explained to reporters on Tuesday that the grand jury, representing the citizens of El Paso, found probable cause to believe the riots occurred.
Kelli Childress-Diaz, the El Paso Public Defender representing the defendants, expressed little surprise at the indictment, suggesting it may have been premeditated.
The arrests have shone a spotlight on Texas’ heightened border enforcement efforts under Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Responding to the March arrests, Abbott deployed an additional 700 National Guard members to El Paso.
Hicks, appointed by Abbott in 2022, acknowledged the unusual move of presenting misdemeanor cases to a grand jury but defended it as “fair.” Since March, over 350 people have been arrested on rioting charges, according to Hicks.
If convicted, each defendant could face up to 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000. Additionally, those in jail still face federal charges, with the possibility of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents processing them for illegal entry offenses.
Childress-Diaz criticized the situation, describing the defendants as “political coins” manipulated by government officials.