Ypsilanti man allegedly flipped off Border Patrol, brake-checked transport van on I-96
TOPSHOT - This photo shows a US Border Patrol patch on a border agent's uniform in McAllen, Texas, on January 15, 2019. (Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP) (Photo credit should read SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)
FOX 2 - An Ypsilanti man was charged for impeding, intimidating, or interfering with Border Patrol agents, according to the US Attorney Eastern District of Michigan.
The backstory:
Jacob Nathaniel Len is accused of driving his BMW sedan toward a marked Border Patrol vehicle on I-96 and flipping them off with his middle finger before cutting off the vehicle without signaling.
Investigators say Len, 30, then rapidly slowed down in front of the Border Patrol transport van, forcing the driver to quickly brake.
Len repeated his sudden brake-checking maneuver twice before exiting the freeway.
The operation involved four uniformed Border Patrol agents transporting 15 illegal migrants detained for immigration violations in a pair of vehicles.
The BP agents were transporting them to a correctional facility in Michigan at the time of the alleged interaction.
"The alleged actions of this man are shameful," said US Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. "While zipping around in his BMW, this defendant cavalierly endangered the hardworking agents who put their lives on the line every day protecting our country, the illegal aliens they were tasked with safely transporting, and other drivers going about their lives."
Len appeared in federal court in Detroit Monday and was released on bond. His next court appearance will be August 25 for a preliminary examination.
This case is being investigated by special agents from the FBI.
"Interfering with a federal agent performing their official duties is a serious criminal offense and will not be tolerated," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office.
The Source: Information for this report is from the US Attorney Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.