A protester arrested following a federal sting on a Minneapolis taqueria last week was released from custody Thursday, ahead of a future court date.
Isabel Lopez, 27, is charged with three counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, and one count of obstruction of justice for her actions during a multiagency raid on June 3, which drew more than a 100 protesters.
Federal officials have described the raid as part of a drug-trafficking investigation that included eight warrants served in the Twin Cities and Northfield that day.
But Minneapolis officials have admitted that communications broke down, leading many neighbors to believe that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was targeting an immigrant-owned business on Lake Street.
Lopez, the only protester arrested so far in the actions that day, was taken into custody Monday and transported to the Sherburne County Jail. A federal judge released her Thursday morning, with conditions.
Federal Magistrate Judge John Docherty told Lopez that she must hand over her passport by the end of the day and refrain from talking about her charges or the case against her with any potential witnesses.
Federal prosecutors pushed for the release with conditions, refraining from pushing for Lopez’s detention.
In court filings, they allege that she kicked and pushed FBI agents and later threw a softball at a Hennepin County Sheriff’s deputy.
Lopez must also submit to regular drug testing, which her attorney Jordan Kushner objected to, noting that the case against her doesn’t involve drugs. Docherty overruled the objection.
Docherty told Lopez that he realized her order to not discuss her case with potential witnesses could be challenging, noting that everyone who showed up at the June 3 search of Las Cuatro Milpas restaurant could be potential witnesses in her case.
“Some of them are in your peer group, including your employer,” Docherty said. “You do have to abide by that condition.”
Lopez has a longtime background in activism and works for the Indigenous Protector Movement.
In court on Thursday, she nodded as the judge spoke and in a soft voice, pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Several family members and supporters showed up in the courtroom. Docherty thanked family members for doing so and submitting letters in support of Lopez, stating that it’s always sad when defendants are in empty courtrooms.
Outside of the courtroom, more than 100 supporters showed up, chanting slogans in favor of Lopez.
“It could be any one of us; she is one of us,” said Maryanne Quiroz, of St. Paul. “I understand that we are scared, and that’s OK. I understand that we’re grieving, and that’s OK too. When we are put in these situations, we need to be able to love and trust each other.”
Brandyn Lee Tulloch, a local activist, read a poem in support of Lopez.
“Isa is a summation of the talent of her ancestors, her community, all of that in her heart,” Tulloch said.
