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Mr. Huerta, a prominent labor leader in California, was initially charged with a felony after his arrest during an immigration raid in Los Angeles this summer.
Oct. 17, 2025, 6:37 p.m. ET
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles downgraded a charge against David Huerta, the labor leader who was arrested during an immigration raid this summer, to a misdemeanor from a felony. The arrest had helped touch off a wave of protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Mr. Huerta, the California president of the Service Employees International Union, faces one misdemeanor count of obstruction of a federal officer, which has a maximum sentence of one year in prison. Prosecutors claim that Mr. Huerta impeded federal agents by walking across a driveway and trying to block a car as heavily armed officers conducted an immigration raid on a clothing wholesaler near downtown Los Angeles on June 6.
Mr. Huerta was arrested that day and initially charged with conspiring to impede an officer — a felony offense that holds a sentence of up to six years in federal prison. He was released after about three days in federal custody on a $50,000 bond.
A spokesman for Bill Essayli, the acting U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, declined to comment on Mr. Huerta’s charge or respond to a question about why the charge was downgraded.
After Mr. Huerta was arrested, Mr. Essayli said on X that he would arrest and prosecute anyone accused of impeding federal agents. “I don’t care who you are,” he wrote.
Mr. Huerta and his supporters have described the accusation as a baseless attempt to intimidate those who speak out against President Trump.
