A 27-year-old Honduran national has been charged with assaulting federal officers after prosecutors say he climbed onto his truck and repeatedly swung a hammer at Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during a traffic stop in New Jersey this month.
Reinieri De Jesus Licona Amador appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal in Camden federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of assaulting federal officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Federal prosecutors said the encounter began during a targeted ICE operation in Gibbsboro, when officers ran a license plate check on a truck traveling through the area. The vehicle was registered to Licona Amador, and a search of immigration records indicated he lacked lawful status in the United States, according to the criminal complaint.
Officers activated their emergency lights and pulled over the truck. As they approached, prosecutors say, they saw Licona Amador reach into a tool container in the back seat and pick up a hammer. The officers ordered him to stop moving, but he refused to comply, prompting them to open the vehicle door and try to remove him.
According to the complaint, Licona Amador pulled away and moved to the passenger side of the truck, where officers again tried unsuccessfully to restrain him. He then climbed out of the passenger side while holding the hammer, ignoring repeated commands, prosecutors said.
He allegedly climbed onto the passenger-side door and swung the hammer at officers multiple times. Officers deployed oleoresin capsicum spray, commonly known as pepper spray, and wrestled him to the ground. He was arrested without injury, according to prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said the conduct threatened both officer safety and the rule of law. «Federal officers put themselves in harm's way to enforce the law and protect the public,» Frazer said in a statement. «When an individual responds to a traffic stop by attacking an officer with a hammer, that conduct threatens not only the officer's safety but the rule of law itself. We will not allow violent attacks on federal officers to go unanswered and will hold those responsible accountable under the law.»
The charge is the latest in a series of federal cases involving confrontations during immigration enforcement operations. Prosecutors have emphasized that assaults on federal officers carry severe penalties, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey has pursued such cases in federal court.
Court records do not indicate whether Licona Amador has entered a plea or retained legal counsel. A detention hearing and further proceedings are expected in the coming weeks as the case moves through the federal court in Camden.