Federal indictment charges 3 activists with alleged ‘doxing’ of ICE agent in Los Angeles

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three activists opposed to President Donald Trump’s immigration raids in Los Angeles have been indicted on charges of illegally “ doxing ” a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, federal prosecutors said.

Investigators said the women followed the agent home, livestreamed their pursuit and then posted the agent's address online, according to a statement Friday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Once they arrived at the agent’s home, prosecutors allege the women shouted “ICE lives on your street and you should know,” according to the indictment.

The defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of publicly disclosing the personal information of a federal agent, the statement said.

Prosecutors said a 25-year-old woman from Panorama City, California, is free on $5,000 bond. A 38-year-old resident of Aurora, Colorado, who is also charged in a separate case with assault on a federal officer, is in custody without bond.

And authorities are searching for the third defendant, a 37-year-old woman from Riverside, California.

“Our brave federal agents put their lives on the line every day to keep our nation safe,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “The conduct of these defendants are deeply offensive to law enforcement officers and their families. If you threaten, dox, or harm in any manner one of our agents or employees, you will face prosecution and prison time.”

Doxing is a typically malicious practice that involves gathering private or identifying information and releasing it online without the person’s permission, usually in an attempt to harass, threaten, shame or exact revenge.

Attorneys for the women could not immediately be reached on Monday. An email was sent to the Federal Public Defender’s Office asking if its attorneys are representing the defendants.

According to the indictment, the three women last month followed an ICE agent from the federal building in downtown Los Angeles to the agent’s residence in Baldwin Park east of LA. They livestreamed the entire event, court documents say.

In July, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem threatened to prosecute people for publishing federal agents’ personal information in response to fliers in Portland, Oregon, that called for people to collect intel on ICE.

Critics of the Trump administration’s raids have expressed outrage over federal agents wearing masks and refusing to identify themselves in public while arresting immigrants in California.

Last week, California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business.