SPOKANE, Wash. – Former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart pleaded guilty Monday to Conspiracy to Injure or Impede an Officer, a class D felony.
Stuckart was charged nearly 5 months ago, in July, after he and eight other Spokanites were named in a federal indictment.
The indictment, filed a month after the June 11th ICE protests, with the indictment alleging that Stuckart’s social media post called protestors downtown, and eventually led to attempts to injure or impede officers.
Last week, Stuckart, and four others, announced their intent to change pleas.
Mikki Pike Hatfield was the first to appear in court. Their plea agreement and deferred sentencing, appears very similar to Stuckart’s.
After pleading guilty, Stuckart will have 18 months of supervised release, where he will be required to follow certain restrictions on his conduct.
If he does not violate the agreement, lawyers for the United States said in court that Stuckart could withdraw his guilty plea, and would be charged with a misdemeanor instead of the felony.
Non Stop Local spoke with Mikki Hatfield’s Lawyer, Nicolas Vieth, who said that these types of resolutions are rare, but have been used in the past.
In July 2027, both Hatfield and Stuckart will have a status conference, where the determination of misdemeanor will be addressed.
IN the meantime, Stuckart and Hatfield have been ordered to pay restitution.
Stuckart will pay $10,873.71 in installments of $50 a month.
At the conclusion of the change of plea hearing, Stuckart gave a statement, saying:
“I just pleaded guilty in court. If I have learned one thing over the last 6 months is that you can do the right thing and still have negative consequences.
This all started on June 11 at 9 a.m. when Joswar and Cesar were called in for a ‘routine’ meeting at ICE. Cesar and Joswar asked us to attend the meeting with them, they were our friends so we went. Both Cesar and Joswar had entered the United States legally, on humanitarian parole, were working full time, and had created a community. They waited at the border for five months until they were granted permission to enter. But, without warning or reason, the government decided they were no longer welcome and threw them in jail. They did the right thing, yet received punishment.
Sadly, situations like this are happening all across the country. When ICE took Cesar and Joswar (and put them in chains), I decided to try and stop them from taking my friends. At the time, it was my hope that the government would do the right thing and release them from custody. I understood what I was up against, but I thought it necessary to take a stand. I accept full responsibility for my conduct.
We can dissect why the city never sent the de-escalation team that was promised or why the U.S. Government decided to bring this indictment, but that is not what matters.
What matters is that we each find the courage to take care of each other. Take care of your friends and loved ones. Take care of our community.
Martin Luther King Jr. explained that the antidote to fear is courage. We must be courageous, while accepting the consequences for our actions. And we must never stop fighting for each other.”
