JOHN YANG: When a U.S.

Army veteran# was arrested on conspiracy charges## for his role in an anti-ICE protest in Spokane,# Washington, last summer, it was the first time## an American had been charged with conspiracy# in connection with the ongoing ICE protests.

Some legal experts saw it as an escalation# of the administration's efforts to suppress,## even criminalize First Amendment rights.

Special correspondent Aaron Glantz has the story,## which was produced with the# support of the Pulitzer Center.

AARON GLANTZ: The sound of banging# on Army veteran Bajun Mavalwalla's## front door startled him awake at 6:00# a.m.

the morning of July 15, 2025.

BAJUN MAVALWALLA, U.S.

Army Veteran: Something's# not right.

And I went and I looked out the## upstairs window.

The street is all closed# off and there's a bunch of guys with rifles.

AARON GLANTZ: It was the FBI,and# they had come to arrest him.

BAJUN MAVALWALLA: My dad very,# very quickly after that was like,## Bajun, it's the FBI.

They have got a warrant.

AARON GLANTZ: Bajun was arrested# for conspiracy for his role in## an anti-ICE protest more than a month earlier.

BAJUN MAVALWALLA: I'm an Afghanistan# veteran.

I'm an American citizen.

AARON GLANTZ: Bajun kept his cool in# handcuffs while the FBI searched his pockets.

BAJUN RAY MAVALWALLA, Father of Bajun# Mavalwalla: Have you been read your rights?

AARON GLANTZ: His father recorded this video.

BAJUN RAY MAVALWALLA: My son is steady as a rock,## saying he's an Afghanistan# veteran, that this is unjust.

AARON GLANTZ: If convicted, Bajun# would face up to six years in prison.

BAJUN RAY MAVALWALLA: I don't think# that you really realize how far away## we have come from democracy until# you open the door and see federal## agents to arrest your son# for a nonviolent protest.

AARON GLANTZ: Bajun comes from a military family.# His parents both served in the army.

His father,## Bajun Ray Mavalwalla, a retired intelligence# officer, earned three Bronze Stars in Iraq and## Afghanistan.

He and Bajun served# in Afghanistan at the same time.

BAJUN RAY MAVALWALLA: I think that might be# my favorite photograph in the entire world.

AARON GLANTZ: The younger Mavalwalla provided# signals intelligence in Kandahar province,## one of the most dangerous parts of# Afghanistan.

His unit suffered casualties,## including one time a fellow# soldier stepped on an IED.

BAJUN MAVALWALLA: There was three amputations,## three traumatic brain injuries.# I was maybe 10, 15 yards back.

BAJUN RAY MAVALWALLA: My son's incredibly brave.## He believes that you should do# the things you're supposed to do.

AARON GLANTZ: After coming home from the war,# Bajun moved to the Pacific Northwest.

He felt## he'd done his duty.

Like many veterans,# he said he wanted to find some peace.

BAJUN MAVALWALLA: I bought the land and# it's beautiful.

There's tons of trees.

Like,## I have seen wolves on it.

There's been# moose.

There's been bears.

Like, it's quiet.

AARON GLANTZ: But, a few years later in# 2021, when Kabul fell to the Taliban,## Bajun felt compelled to serve# again, this time out of uniform,## volunteering to help dozens of America's# Afghan allies come to the United States.

BAJUN MAVALWALLA: Every single person here, except# for the people who are indigenous to the Americas,## is an immigrant or comes from immigrants.

It's# absolutely ludicrous to think that we can get away## with not bringing people in, especially people who# we told, hey, if you help us, we will help you.

AARON GLANTZ: Five weeks before his arrest,# Bajun saw a Facebook post from the former## president of the Spokane City Council.

Two# men with pending asylum applications had## been detained at a routine ICE check-in and# were going to be transported for deportation.

"I am going to sit in front of the# bus," he wrote.

"Feel free to join me."

BAJUN MAVALWALLA: Happened to be scrolling# through and saw it pop up and I was like,## huh, well, I have time.

I will# swing by and see what's going on.

I'm pretty upset about how this# country is treating immigrants.## The people they rolled up were legal# asylum seekers.

They have been doing## everything right.

There was no# reason for them to be detained.

AARON GLANTZ: The protest was, for the# most part, peaceful.

But, at times,## it turned contentious.

Bajun can be seen in this# video briefly tangling with masked federal agents.## One ICE agent pushes Bajun in the# back, knocking Bajun into another,## who grabs him.

Bajun and the agents# shove each other and then disengage.

Then demonstrators back up and link arms to# try to block the gate to stop ICE from taking## the asylum seekers away.

Dozens of people# were arrested, but Bajun wasn't among them.

Richard Barker, the acting U.S.# attorney for Eastern Washington state,## had monitored the protest from his office# on the other side of the Spokane River.

RICHARD BARKER, Former Acting U.S.

Attorney,# Eastern District of Washington: I went to bed## that evening feeling like this situation could# .. AARON GLANTZ: Barker had worked for# the DOJ for 11 years and focused on## prosecuting drug smugglers and murderers.# But the day after the Spokane protest,## the Justice Department sent him and the# 92 other U.S.

attorneys nationwide a memo## that demanded they prioritize# prosecutions of ICE protesters.

So Barker authorized an investigation.

His# staff started preparing a conspiracy indictment## against Bajun Mavalwalla and eight others,# something Barker knew he couldn't support.

RICHARD BARKER: Nobody was really hurt.

None# of the protesters were hurt.

Fortunately,## none of the law enforcement# officers were hurt either.

AARON GLANTZ: He was aware that# other U.S.

attorneys had been## ousted for refusing to comply with Trump# Justice Department orders.

And he worried## about his ability to act ethically if# he stayed on the job.

So he resigned.

RICHARD BARKER: I didn't feel in this case that# a conspiracy charge that would carry a six-year## term of incarceration was true to who I was# or who I wanted to be as a federal prosecutor.

AARON GLANTZ: Two days after Barker quit,# his successor signed the indictment,## charging Bajun and the others with conspiracy# to impede or injure a federal officer,## the first time conspiracy charges had# been brought against ICE protesters.

In a statement to the "News Hour," the DOJ# said it "respects the First Amendment and## the right of Americans to peacefully# protest, but will never tolerate the## obstruction of lawful immigration operations# or putting federal agents in harm's way."

BAJUN MAVALWALLA: Should we go in?

AARON GLANTZ: The day he was arrested,# Bajun was getting .. a new house.

He and his girlfriend,# Kate, bought it with a VA mortgage.

KATELYN GASTON, U.S.

Army Veteran: This is# the service uniform.

I was in nine years.

AARON GLANTZ: Kate's also an Afghanistan# war veteran.

She deployed as a medic.

KATELYN GASTON: We're not weak people.

We# are willing to fight for what is right,## which is -- I mean, it's a First Amendment issue.

AARON GLANTZ: Bajun agrees# and is standing his ground.

They say that you were part of a felony# conspiracy to impede or assault a federal officer.

BAJUN MAVALWALLA: Conspiracy requires people# communicating and planning it out and saying,## yes, we're going to do this and this is why we're# going to do it and this is how we're going to do## it.

None of that happened, at least as far as --# not as far as I know.

I wasn't part of any of it.

AARON GLANTZ: Since Bajun's arrest in# July, the use of federal conspiracy## charges has spread.

Prosecutors have filed# them against demonstrators in Chicago and## also investigated Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and# Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for the same crime.

BAJUN RAY MAVALWALLA: What these people are# doing to my son and that they're doing all## across the country is unconscionable,# and people need to know about it.

How you all doing today?

AARON GLANTZ: Inspired by Bajun's arrest and# .. of government authority, his father announced# in January that he was running for Congress,## challenging Spokane's Republican incumbent.

It was a day after federal agents# fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis,## and he stopped by a demonstration in Spokane.

BAJUN RAY MAVALWALLA: This is me and my# son in Afghanistan.

He was arrested by## the FBI.

It's unconscionable and it's un-American.

AARON GLANTZ: The shock of Renee# Good's killing also inspired former## acting U.S.

attorney Richard Barker# to speak out about what he sees as## the government's hypocrisy.

This is his# first on-camera interview since resigning.

RICHARD BARKER: In the one instance, really,# nobody was hurt and the protesters were charged.## In another instance, somebody's life was taken,# and DOJ wants to give that person immunity.

BAJUN MAVALWALLA: These are things that are# supposed to be fundamentally American.

These## are the things that, when I joined the military,# I thought I was joining to protect.

You have a## right as an American to voice your opinion.# You can't do it violently.

You can't do it in## a way that harms other people.

But you have# a right to stand up for what you believe in.

Oh, you got it.

AARON GLANTZ: Bajun's jury# .. For "PBS News Hour," I'm Aaron# Glantz in Spokane, Washington.