Three individuals, referred to as the 'Spokane 3,' were convicted on May 30, 2026, on federal conspiracy charges related to protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Washington state. The defendants, Jac Archer, Justice Forral, and Bajun Mavalwalla II, were accused of attempting to obstruct federal officers from transferring two detained immigrants from Spokane to Tacoma in June 2025, as reported by KUOW.
The protests were organized in response to a social media post by former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart, who called for demonstrators to block the transfer bus. Stuckart was a sponsor for one of the immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. He was later arrested along with nine other protesters on conspiracy charges. Stuckart and five others accepted plea deals for reduced sentences.
Following the verdict, Washington state Representative Natasha Hill criticized Stuckart for not attending the trial, stating, "You started this and you couldn’t even show up to finish it." Stuckart explained on Facebook that attending the trial would have violated his parole terms and expressed regret over the guilty verdict.
Bajun Mavalwalla Sr., the father of one of the convicted protesters, claimed that federal prosecutors aimed to set an example with his son, arguing that the case raises concerns about the rights to protest and dissent against immigration enforcement policies.
