Federal prosecutors face criticism after a search warrant related to the deadly ICE shooting of 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was made public. The warrant showed the FBI believed plastic baggies found in his van held substances resembling illegal drugs.
Details on the initial warrant made public while the investigation was ongoing
The warrant was initially sealed during the active investigation but became public the next day. Former Justice Department officials called this a highly unusual move.
“This is absolutely abnormal,” former federal prosecutor and CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said. “This raises all sorts of red flags and all sorts of questions about why they would unseal this now.”
According to the FBI report, an agent said the crystal-like substances in clear plastic baggies looked like methamphetamine. However, lab tests have not confirmed this.
Salgado’s family, attorney and other legal experts challenge the FBI’s drug allegations
Salgado Araujo’s family strongly disputed the allegation. Attorney Ruby Powers said they believe the baggies contained “granulated salt which is paired with lemon and water as a homemade electrolyte mix used by outdoor workers in extreme Texas heat, not methamphetamine or any other illicit substance.”
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare questioned how the FBI handled the evidence, saying he does not think the substances were drugs. He also criticized investigators for not fully checking the van for more evidence, including data on the vehicle’s speed and braking before the shooting.
“All they were looking for were baggies that were in open sight, and the only thing that I can think they did it for was to smear a good man’s name,” Teare said in a Friday interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett.
Critics accused prosecutors of trying to damage Salgado Araujo’s reputation after his death. Domingo Garcia, president of the LULAC Adelante PAC, echoed those concerns, accusing federal investigators of trying to influence public opinion while the case remains under investigation.
“It just smells of a smear campaign and a cover up,” he said Wednesday, according to CNN.
Protesters rallied during Sunday demonstration in Houston
Salgado Araujo was a Mexican national who was fatally shot by ICE officers on July 7 while he was driving his construction crew to a job site in Houston. Following the shooting, ICE claimed Salgado Araujo was using his vehicle to ram an ICE agent, and the officer fired their weapon in self-defense, according to Al Jazeera.
Witnesses have disputed ICE’s account of the shooting, and a statement from the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas omitted any mention of Salgado Araujo’s van colliding with a law enforcement vehicle or that the officer feared for their life.
Hundreds of protesters rallied in Houston on Sunday, calling for justice in Salgado Araujo’s death. One activist called for more demonstrations throughout the city.
“We cannot just sit here and let ICE hunt and murder more of our daughters, our brothers, our uncles. If we want justice, we have to demand it,” she said in a video obtained by the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a campaign group, per Al Jazeera.
There have been a total of 10 ICE-related deaths this year, with the most recent incident happening just days after Salgado Araujo’s death. On July 13, 26-year-old Duran Gurerro, a Colombian man, was fatally shot during a traffic stop.