Two men arrested in September in connection with the public demonstration that took place at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office at East Valencia and South Country Club roads, on June 11, were indicted last week.
46-year-old Joe Michael Quarnberg and 34-year-old Kevin Clarke Silary received a riot charge, a class five felony, according to court documents obtained by KGUN 9.
According to a news release from Tucson Police issued in September, investigators determined that Quarnberg and Silary allegedly provided riot shields, rocks and balloons filled with unidentified substances to crowd members.
The protest consisted of about 200 people, according to an interim complaint.
Quarnberg and Silary were seen driving up to the protest in a Ford F-150, according to the complaint, then unloading shields and other items for the crowd to use.
Those items were utilized to "cause extensive property damage and assault several members of a private security staff," the news release said.
Police took photographs at the scene and used them to identify Quarnberg and Silary.
The estimated cost of the damages exceeded $31,000. It consisted of graffiti and broken windows.
In response to the indictment, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover released the following statement:
“As always, the rules prevent me from commenting on the specific facts of a pending case. The two men in question are presumed innocent unless proven guilty, and they have a right to contest the grand jury’s indictment. Generally speaking, as your County Attorney, I will always fight for the community’s rights to peaceful protest and free speech. Pima County has held dozens of respectful and powerful demonstrations in the last several months. Many of those large rallies had not a single reported act of violence, despite the presence of thousands of community members raising their voices in defense of American Democracy and the US Constitution itself.
I will always stay focused on community safety. Going forward, any evidence of unlawful excessive force, disturbing the peace of the community, or endangering peaceful protestors presented to us will be carefully reviewed for potential accountability.
Our best response to federal overreach is organized, peaceful solidarity. This is what makes us Pima County.”
