Man shot by Border Patrol agent in Portland charged with assaulting officer
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The man shot by a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent in East Portland was charged Monday with aggravated assault of a federal officer, the Department of Justice announced.
Why it matters: The shooting of Luis David Nino-Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras in the parking lot of a health facility in East Portland has roiled the city, sparking protests over the weekend and condemnation of heavy-handed immigration enforcement.
The latest: Nino-Moncada was charged with aggravated assault of a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon and damaging federal property in excess of $1,000, per a DOJ statement.
- He made his initial court appearance on Monday afternoon.
- "Anyone who crosses the red line of assaulting law enforcement will be met with the full force of this Justice Department," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
State of play: Nino-Moncada was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on Sunday after he was released from OHSU, where he was being treated for a gunshot wound to the arm, the Oregonian reported.
- Zambrano-Contreras was hospitalized at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the chest but was transported to an ICE processing facility in Tacoma, Washington, where she faces charges of entering the country illegally, per OPB.
Zoom in: Federal officials said they were targeting the pair on Thursday when they approached their vehicle at an Adventist Health office building in the 10200 block of Southeast Main Street.
- Witnesses told the Oregonian they saw agents pound on the window of a red Toyota Tacoma before the vehicle reversed and hit another car behind it repeatedly before fleeing the parking lot.
- The witness heard several gunshots as the truck sped away, and federal officials said the pair "attempted to run over the law enforcement agents."
Zoom out: The Department of Homeland Security accused the pair of ties to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang designated by the Trump administration as a global terrorist organization.
- Nino-Moncada's lawyer pushed back, calling the accusations a "well-worn playbook that the government has developed to justify the dangerous and unprofessional conduct of its agents."
Go deeper: Portlanders take to the streets after federal shooting
Editor's note: This article and its headline have been updated to reflect that Luis David Nino-Moncada has been charged and appeared in court, and comment from Attorney General Pam Bondi has been added to the story.