A pair of alleged illegal immigrants from Central America were arrested Thursday night for assaulting U.S. Border Patrol agents in separate incidents near Imperial Beach.
The two men were charged Friday in federal court in San Diego. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, one man allegedly elbowed an agent and the other tried to punch another agent. One of the men was from Honduras and the other from El Salvador.
After being ordered to lie down and not move once spotted near the U.S. border, the Honduran suspect ran then elbowed the agent in the chest, tried to grab the agent's handcuffs and started a brawl that sent them both tumbling down a hill.
The suspect was later arrested and admitted to entering the country without authorization. He was charged Friday with assault on a federal officer and illegal entry.
The suspect from El Salvador was detained after prosecutors said he ran toward a Border Patrol agent-unprovoked- and “reached back with his arm and swung” at the agent.
The suspect also allegedly admitted to entering the U.S. without authorization and was charged with assault on a federal officer and illegal entry as well.
Border Patrol agents and federal prosecutors said it was at least the third incident involving an assault on a federal officer near the border this week.
Border Patrol officials reported a 73 percent increase in assaults against agents in fiscal year 2017.
Read more at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
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