(The Center Square) – One of the nine people indicted after the June 11 Spokane immigration protests pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday for felony conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
Mikki Hatfield pleaded guilty in exchange for deferring sentencing for 18 months. The U.S. Department of Justice offered a plea deal that allows Hatfield to swap the felony plea for a misdemeanor if he can stay out of trouble until then. If not, the difference could amount to serving six years in federal prison.
The case stems from a June 11 protest at a U.S. Department of Homeland Security facility in Spokane.
Local law enforcement arrested dozens of protesters for failure to disperse during and after that event, including former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart. Some face felony charges, but Spokane dismissed the misdemeanors for failure to disperse a few months ago following the federal indictment.
“Basically, we punt for 18 months,” Hatfield’s attorney, Nick Vieth, told The Center Square. “As long as Mr. Hatfield does well on pretrial release and his supervision and his conditions, and he doesn’t violate any of those conditions, then we’ll be back in 18 months, where we will move to withdraw [this felony plea].
Hatfield is the first of the nine protesters indicted last summer to plead guilty. Many were scheduled to go to trial next spring, but recently requested change-of-plea hearings. Vieth said he worked with two U.S. attorneys on the deal for months. Stuckart and others may consider similar plea deals next week.
When asked about the nature of the agreement on Wednesday, Stuckart told The Center Square that he was reserving statements until after his hearing next week. It’s unclear whether Stuckart and the other defendants will receive the same plea agreement as Hatfield, but Stuckart hinted that it’s likely.
“Mikki has a hearing today and hoping the details of the deal are able to become public during that,” Stuckart wrote in an email on Wednesday. “I have a call with my lawyer today to find what is public.”
For the next 18 months, Hatfield must pay $50 per month toward a roughly $10,800 restitution with the other defendants. Vieth said his client also has to report any contacts with law enforcement, comply with supervision requirements, such as sobriety, and attend status hearings, among other conditions.
He thinks the DOJ was willing to negotiate because his client has no criminal record. If Hatfield fails to comply with the plea agreement, he could face up to six years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The DOJ recommended three years of supervised release if everything goes to plan over the next 18 months.
Vieth said the judge could still sentence the defendant to up to a year in prison for the misdemeanor, but he doesn’t think it will come to that. As part of the deal, the court also dropped another charge for assault on a federal officer. Only one other defendant, Bobbi Lee Silva, faces a federal assault charge for this.
Like Hatfield, Silva is also charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer along with the other seven codefendants. City Prosecutor Justin Bingham previously told The Center Square that he plans to refile the charges he dismissed after reviewing hundreds of hours of body camera footage.
According to reporting by The Center Square, Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall directed officers not to cooperate with the FBI in the days following June 11. However, he rescinded that order just days later.
“Any suggestion that SPD failed to cooperate with other law enforcement partners is incorrect,” Hall wrote in response to several questions from The Center Square in October. “Our actions reflected due diligence, not disengagement, and thoughtful, critical decision making, not politicized policing.”
