00:00Thank you, Newt. Tonight we're taking a closer look at what can happen if someone interferes with federal immigration enforcement.
00:06It comes after two Utah residents were charged in federal court.
00:10They're accused of helping a suspected undocumented immigrant get away from federal agents.
00:15Lib Keller joining us live from the Home Depot where investigators say this happened in Salt Lake City.
00:19So Lib, take us back. How did this all start?
00:24Well, Mark, according to court documents, this all started in this Home Depot parking lot
00:28when several federal agents were attempting a targeted immigration enforcement action.
00:32They say one of the detained men took off on foot while still handcuffed and ran into traffic.
00:37Moments later, a couple pulled over and helped him get away, later saying they recognized him from work.
00:43Video of the incident was posted to the Instagram page SLC Scoop,
00:47which court documents describe as a page which serves as a crowdsourced feed for police activity.
00:52Not only is there now video evidence in living color about what this is,
00:56but apparently that evidence can be linked to defendants in this case.
01:01I had criminal defense attorney Nathan Evershed review the video.
01:04They also requested a copy from the Department of Justice,
01:07but a spokesperson said they cannot release it while the case is still open.
01:10Well, the video appears to show a man in handcuffs running out of this parking lot
01:14into traffic southbound on 2100 South.
01:16According to court documents, a car then pulled up here near the corner of 2100 South and 300 West
01:22waved the man in before taking off.
01:24The video posted online then picks up with a pair of bolt cutters being used to cut those handcuffs.
01:29According to the Department of Justice,
01:31one of the defendants later reposted the video and bragged about the interaction on social media.
01:36Does this set some sort of precedent for other related cases?
01:39And do you anticipate more charges and arrests like this coming
01:42as we kind of get to the reactionary phase of some of the protests we've seen earlier this year?
01:47Yes, yes. You can definitely anticipate more arrests occurring,
01:51largely because part of the reasons why arrests and charges would occur
01:55is the idea of trying to prevent these things from happening.
01:59In a social media message referenced by investigators,
02:02the defendants claimed the man has papers of residence and they did not care.
02:06But Evershed says even if someone is wrongfully detained,
02:10the legal line for aiding and abetting still stands.
02:15Now, I reached out to Immigrations and Custom Enforcement for more information on that initial
02:19arrest, including if that man was eventually re-detained,
02:23if he's still in ICE custody or if he has been deported, but have not heard back.
02:27Evershed said if you do witness immigration enforcement or any sort of arrest,
02:31you're allowed to document, record, use your voice.
02:34But the minute your actions cross over into interference,
02:37that is a crime that can range from a misdemeanor to a felony.
02:40Reporting live in Salt Lake City, Liv Kelleher, KUTV 2 News.
