Welcome to Arrest Stories. A former Army sergeant with top-secret clearance finds himself in federal custody after participating in a protest to block the deportation of two Venezuelan asylum seekers, sparking outrage over government overreach against military veterans.
Here's what may have happened.
On June eleventh, thirty-five-year-old Bajun Mavalwalla the Second responded to a social media call to join protesters blocking an ICE transport in Spokane, Washington. The demonstration aimed to prevent the deportation of two Venezuelan immigrants legally petitioning for asylum. Video footage shows Mavalwalla briefly jostling with a masked officer before locking arms with other demonstrators to block a gate. During the protest, a government van's windshield was smashed and tires were slashed, though Mavalwalla was not charged with these specific acts of property damage.
Unlike two dozen others arrested at the scene, Mavalwalla went home that day. However, more than a month later on July fifteenth at six in the morning, FBI agents arrived at his residence during what was supposed to be his moving day into a three-thousand-square-foot house with his girlfriend.
Video captured by his father shows a stunned Mavalwalla being handcuffed as he told agents, "This is not how I planned to spend my moving day. I'm a military veteran. I'm an American citizen."
The arrest has sparked controversy given Mavalwalla's background as an Afghanistan combat veteran who survived a roadside bomb blast and worked in cybersecurity with top-secret clearance. Supporters argue the federal conspiracy charges represent government intimidation of dissent.
One observer stated, "Here's a guy who held a top-secret clearance and was privy to some of the most sensitive information we have, who served in a combat zone. To see him treated like this really sticks in my craw."
Mavalwalla had never met the other protesters before the demonstration and only first encountered protest organizer Ben Stuckart in their shared jail cell.
All suspects presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do not take this report as factual, always verify facts. Thanks for watching Arrest Stories.
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