Labor Union Leader Huerta Charged with Federal Crimd

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David Huerta, President of Service Employees International Union California which is the state’s largest labor union, was charged with the federal crime of conspiracy to impede an officer.

He is expected to have a bond hearing in court later in the day. Conviction would carry a prison sentence of up to six years.

On Friday, officers executed a federal search warrant at a Los Angeles business as part of immigration raids. Court filings by the prosecution say Huerta sat down in front of a gate and encouraged others to try to keep officers from entering or leaving, and it was clear “he and the others had planned in advance of arrival to disrupt the operation.”

The filing says an officer approached Huerta, told him to leave, then put hands on Huerta to shift him out of the way of a vehicle. The filing says Huerta pushed back, after which the officer pushed Huerta to the ground and arrested him.

Video shows Huerta briefly standing near the front of an SUV. An officer shoves him. He falls to the ground and a number of agents immediately converge to arrest him. The court will have to reconcile video and the somewhat different written report on which charges are based.

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