US Citizen Pleads Guilty to Assault on Border Patrol Agent After Protest Confrontation

U.S. citizen whose partner and two young children were in the car. The ruling came at Cerna's sentencing in March 2026.

US judge Cynthia Valenzuela criticized officers for pinning Cerna's car in an unnecessary maneuver, pointing assault rifles at him even as he exited with hands raised on 11 June 2025 in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, and allowing border patrol agent Eduardo Mejorado to interrogate him without a Miranda warning.

Valenzuela noted that Cerna had already faced significant consequences, including a brutal arrest, a week in jail and two months of home confinement. Cerna, a 28-year-old carpenter born in Long Beach, California, and son of two immigrants from Mexico, became a target after a protest four days earlier.

On 7 June 2025, he joined demonstrations in Paramount, California, a south LA suburb that is 81% Latino, after hearing rumors of ICE presence at a Home Depot. In the week of 7 June 2025, ICE had targeted Los Angeles' garment district and day laborers with highly publicized raids.

During the protest outside a DHS office in Paramount, Cerna shouted at border patrol agents while filming, stating "I’m a US citizen.

Grainy social media footage showed a border patrol agent later identified as Eduardo Mejorado appearing to grab at Cerna, after which Cerna swung his hand at Mejorado’s face. DHS officials stated that Cerna "punched" the border patrol agent in the face. Cerna and his lawyers stated the agent "lunged" at him and that Cerna reflexively swung back with an open hand but did not make contact.

There were no allegations in the government’s follow-up reports that the agent was injured. Officers fired projectiles during the protest, and Cerna was hit by multiple pepper balls and a teargas canister that struck his face. " and "Arrest as many people that touch you as you want.

Bovino retired in March 2026. ICE’s homeland security investigations division used social media to confirm Cerna was the protester who "assaulted" an agent before the 11 June 2025 arrest. An internal ICE strategy document planned to use a drone to track his movements with four vehicles of officers monitoring him.

An officer filmed from inside a vehicle as ICE followed Cerna on the freeway that day. On 11 June 2025, Cerna, Abby Chavez, their five-month-old daughter and two-year-old son were in the car when two unmarked ICE vehicles rammed it. ICE agents detonated flash-bang grenades and pointed assault rifles at the vehicle containing his partner and two young children.

Cerna exited his vehicle with hands raised. Agents filmed the arrest using high-quality footage later posted to social media. " Cerna responded without having been read his Miranda rights at that point, according to videos and court records.

Records show a different officer told Cerna of his right to remain silent at a later point on 11 June 2025. A public affairs official arrived to take photos of Cerna at a DHS office after the arrest. Abby Chavez filmed officers pointing firearms at the family.

She and the two children were taken by ambulance to the hospital afterward. " ICE’s X account posted the high-resolution arrest footage on the evening of 11 June 2025 and shared it again the following day with a television emoji, a photo of Cerna being handcuffed, and a YouTube link.

Cerna was charged with felony assault carrying a possible eight-year sentence. The Department of Justice in LA named a different protester and the wrong victim in its initial indictment. He was released after a week in jail and put on house arrest with GPS monitoring.

In December 2025, Cerna pleaded guilty to simple assault on an officer, a misdemeanor. The plea agreement stated he "intentionally swung at" the border agent’s face but did not say he punched or injured the officer. At sentencing, Judge Cynthia Valenzuela criticized Cerna for making "violent threats" but acknowledged he had no criminal history.

The stress from the events took a heavy toll on Cerna’s family. His infant daughter developed a full-body rash after the arrest, which Abby Chavez suspected was stress-related. Chavez lost 20lbs due to stress.

Cerna was hospitalized with a ruptured appendix which doctors attributed to stress. His two-year-old son experienced nightmares screaming "Dad! " after the arrest. Cerna is a southern California native whose own childhood was shaped by his father’s deportation by ICE when he was about 12 years old.

The Guardian reported on the case in detail, including surveillance and court records that documented the sequence of events.