4 arrested for attempting to disable Border Patrol vehicle during LA raid

Four individuals were arrested this week after allegedly attempting to sabotage a US Border Patrol vehicle during an immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot in Van Nuys, an LA neighborhood.

According to US Customs and Border Protection, the suspects identified as Jenaro-Ernesto Ayala, 43, Jude Jasmine Jeannine Allard, 28, Sadot Jarnica, 54, and Daniel Montenegro, 30,  were accused of placing homemade tire spikes to puncture the tires of a federal law enforcement vehicle. All four, confirmed to be US citizens, are now facing felony charges for interfering with federal agents.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that during the arrest, one of the individuals also assaulted a federal agent. The case is currently under review by the US Attorney’s Office.

USBP Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino shared images of the improvised devices on social media, writing, “Subjects attempted to impede & obstruct our efforts, using improvised devices aimed at disabling our vehicles.”

Photos of the suspects were released alongside the announcement. Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin reported that the group was found with a tote bag bearing the logo of CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles) a prominent anti-ICE activist organization that has received approximately $34 million in taxpayer funding. Additional tire spikes were found inside the bag.

Sources told Melugin that one of the suspects is transgender, but federal authorities have not commented on that detail.

This attempted act of sabotage comes just one day after a large-scale immigration enforcement operation occurred at MacArthur Park, where a significant number of federal agents were deployed. The high-profile nature of the event drew the attention of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who confronted agents on-site.

“They need to leave, and they need to leave right now. This is unacceptable,” Bass said, after reportedly calling Chief Bovino directly.

In response, Bovino said, “I don’t work for Karen Bass. Better get used to us now, ‘cause this is going to be normal very soon. We will go anywhere, anytime we want in Los Angeles.”

Bass has publicly called for an end to immigration raids within the city, a stance at odds with federal officials who say their operations will continue unabated.

“The operation is going to be over when we complete the mission,” Bovino said. “Tens of millions of illegal aliens in our country, many millions here in Los Angeles — and that is what we are here to do. We’re not going anywhere soon. We’ll leave when the operation is over.”