A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief stemming from an incident that took place during an October immigration protest in Durango appeared virtually Thursday in La Plata County Court.
Nicholas Rice, 47, allegedly threw Durango resident Franci Stagi’s phone before grabbing her and throwing her down a grassy embankment outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Bodo Industrial Park on Oct. 28.
Stagi, 58, was protesting the detainment of a father and his two children who had a strong asylum case and faced deportation. She filmed and needled Rice as he tried to clear away protesters from the gates of the facility when the incident occurred.
The agent was charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, and criminal mischief, a petty offense, by 6th Judicial District Attorney Sean Murray following an investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations.
Rice, who is stationed in the Pacific Northwest, appeared virtually for an advisement hearing before La Plata Court Judge Douglas Reynolds, who formally read him his charges and set his preliminary court hearing.
He was represented by Denver attorneys Jennifer Perry and Brian Leedy; Murray and Robert Barlow made up the prosecution team.
In a written statement issued Thursday, Murray said the case will examine whether a federal law enforcement officer may be subject to prosecution under state criminal law.
“The answer under longstanding constitutional principles is ‘yes,’” Murray said.
Murray said federal agents do not possess absolute immunity from state criminal prosecution. Rather, they are afforded what courts have long recognized as a qualified immunity arising from the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Protection afforded by the Supremacy Clause only applies when a federal officer’s conduct was within the scope of lawful federal authority and was necessary and proper to carry out federal duties.
“The existence of a federal badge does not automatically place an individual beyond the reach of state criminal law,” Murray said. “Our legal system has long recognized that federal authority and state sovereignty must coexist, and courts are tasked with determining when Supremacy Clause protections apply and when they do not.”
The case will examine whether Rice acted lawfully when he allegedly snatched Stagi’s phone and threw her to the ground.
Murray said the DA’s office remains committed to ensuring all parties involved in Rice’s case receive due process, and that the case be decided based on evidence and the law.
Rice’s preliminary hearing is set for 11 a.m. Aug. 10.
Rice must appear in-person if the case goes to a jury trial or if his defense brings the case to federal court. The latter would be to argue whether Rice acted under the Supremacy Clause and therefore had immunity.
If the judge were to grant immunity, it would prevent prosecutors from moving forward with the case. But if the judge denies that claim, state prosecutors will be allowed to proceed in federal court while litigating Colorado law.
Neither U.S. Customs and Border Protection nor Rice’s defense responded to a request for comment.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
