FRIO COUNTY, Texas – The two protesters arrested Wednesday outside of a detention facility in Dilley, Texas, have been charged with interfering with public duties.
Robert David Padgett and Gavin Austin Pope were arrested by state troopers after “approximately 150 demonstrators refused to leave and began to breach the established protest barrier,” the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
The confrontation can be seen in the below video player.
Interfering with public duties is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Padgett was also charged with resisting arrest, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.
The department told KSAT 12 that state troopers were present at the protest “at the request of the City of Dilley.”
Troopers also deployed pepper ball grenades and pepper ball projectiles, the department said, to “ensure officer safety and maintain order.”
KSAT reporter Erica Hernandez described what she saw Wednesday afternoon. Watch her report in the video player below.
The protest was being held as Texas lawmakers and community advocates traveled to Dilley, where a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father are being held at a family detention facility.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro and other state Democratic lawmakers, including fellow U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett and Greg Casar, called on the Department of Homeland Security to release Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander.
Castro said he met with Ramos and Alexander for approximately half an hour in a news conference in San Antonio.
Quoting Ramos’ father, Castro said the 5-year-old was “very depressed” and “hasn’t been eating well” since he was detained in Dilley.
The congressman reminded the crowd that Ramos and his family “came to the United States legally.”
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