Over 140 migrants have been indicted in Texas by a grand jury on misdemeanor rioting charges on Tuesday over an alleged mass attempt to breach the US-Mexico border.
Daily Mail reports that a judge had thrown out the cases on Monday.
According to the report, no injuries were reported during the alleged breach on April 12 in El Paso. The authorities say it began when one of the migrants cut through a razor wire barrier. Mass arrests followed another case in the Texas border city in March.
After a county judge had thrown out the charges against the accused on Monday, ruling there was insufficient probable cause. A public defender representing the migrants had also argued there was insufficient evidence and accused authorities of trying to make headlines.
“The citizens of El Paso, through the grand jury, essentially overruled the judge’s ruling and found probable cause to believe that the riots did occur,” El Paso County District Attorney Bill Hicks said.
The El Paso Public Defender, Kelli Childless-Diaz, said she wasn’t surprised. She continued, “I imagine they had that already prepared before the hearing started yesterday.”
The arrests have drawn more attention to Texas’ exp imposed on themanding operations along the border. Greg Abbott, the Republican Governor, has taken a series of aggressive measures to curb irregular crossings. After the March arrests, Abbott said he had sent 700 additional National Guard members to El Paso.
If convicted, the accused could face up to 180 days in jail and a fine of about $2,000.
