Jose de Jesus Ortega, 38, and Danielle Nadine Davila, 33, both face charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers. Jesus Ortega was arrested Friday while Nadine Davila was at large as of Friday, according to the Justice Department.
The incident began when ICE agents approached Denis Guillen-Solis, a 30-year-old Honduran man, outside the Ontario Advanced Surgery Center. The agents had been following a truck when it made a sharp turn into a surgery center in Ontario, California. Three men exited the vehicle, with two of the men running away. The third, Guillen-Solis, ran into the facility, prompting agents to follow, the DOJ stated.
In video footage circulating online, medical staff were seen confronting armed ICE agents inside the clinic. One staff member told the officers, “Get your hands off of him. You don’t even have a warrant... Let him go. You need to get out.” Guillen-Solis can be seen during the confrontation as well.
“This story is another example of a false narrative echoed in the media in furtherance of an agenda to delegitimize federal agents,” said United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “The illegal alien arrested inside the surgery center was not a patient. He ran inside for cover and these defendants attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you work, if you assault our agents or otherwise interfere with our operations, you will be arrested and charged with a federal crime.”
If convicted, Ortega and Davila face up to eight years for assault and six for conspiracy.
