El Paso magistrate judge Humberto Acosta ordered the release of illegal immigrants detained in connection with a border riot in March.
During the incident, a mob overwhelmed Texas National Guard troops at the border by tearing down fencing and assaulting personnel. Some faced assault charges for knocking down guardsmen.
The judge accused prosecutors of not being ready to proceed with detention hearings for each defendant within 48 hours, as required.
As a result, the judge ruled that all those charged with “rioting participation” would be released on their own recognizance.
“It is the ruling of the court that all the rioting participation cases will be released on their own recognizance,” Acosta ruled.
It’s unclear if the ruling also applied to those facing more serious assault charges.
Prosecutors requested a continuance to resume hearings later but the judge denied this and said all individuals would be released if the DA’s office was not ready to proceed.
“So if the DA’s office is telling me that they are not ready to go, what we’re going to do is we’re going to release all these individuals on their own recognizance,” Acosta said during Sunday’s hearing.
Those with federal immigration holds would remain detained.
