An illegal immigrant has been formally charged following an alleged assault on federal agents in Texas last month, as announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday.
The individual in question, 28-year-old Jerson Lopez-Sanchez from Honduras, faces three counts of assault against federal immigration agents. Authorities have confirmed that Lopez-Sanchez was present in the United States illegally at the time of the incident.
The events unfolded on December 1, 2025, when federal agents attempted to stop a vehicle owned by Lopez-Sanchez. The vehicle, reportedly containing at least five occupants, became the center of a dramatic encounter. According to the DOJ, Lopez-Sanchez allegedly put the vehicle in reverse, striking an agent positioned behind it.
The indictment against Lopez-Sanchez, which was filed on January 14, includes photographs of the implicated vehicle, identified as a Chevrolet Silverado. The indictment further describes the vehicle as being “loaded with heavy equipment and ladders.”
In an apparent bid to evade capture, Lopez-Sanchez allegedly maneuvered the vehicle around other law enforcement cars, the DOJ stated. At the time, the federal agents were in three separate vehicles, each adorned with clearly marked vests and badges indicating their status as law enforcement officers.
The maneuver supposedly gave Lopez-Sanchez enough room to drive around the other law enforcement vehicles in an apparent attempt to flee, the DOJ said. The department noted that federal agents were in three separate vehicles and “all were wearing clearly marked law enforcement vests with police identifying insignia as well as carrying federal agent badges.”
Law enforcement then began to pursue Lopez-Sanchez with their blue and red flashing lights engaged, according to the DOJ.
With another law enforcement vehicle behind him, Lopez-Sanchez allegedly “made no attempts to apply the brakes to his vehicle as he approached the two ICE agents in a Chrysler van and crossed over opposite lanes of traffic,” the indictment states. He then allegedly rammed into the van, causing “significant damage and smoke to rise from the hood” and deploying the vehicle’s airbags, according to the indictment.
Officers from Homeland Security and the FBI conduct immigration enforcement in El Paso, Texas on Thursday, January 30, 2025. (FBI)
As the third law enforcement vehicle continued to pursue him, Lopez-Sanchez fled for approximately 10 minutes before he stopped the vehicle on a median and all five occupants took off on foot, according to the DOJ.
“The manner in which the Suspect Vehicle was used, by Jerson Lopez- Sanchez, was a deadly and dangerous weapon capable of inflicting death or bodily injury,” the indictment states. The term “suspect vehicle” in the indictment refers to the Chevrolet Silverado.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem slammed the attack on ICE agents in Minneapolis, Wednesday, as an “act of domestic terrorism” during remarks at the southern border in Texas. (Pool / Fox News)
Lopez-Sanchez was identified as the driver of the vehicle and remains at-large. The DOJ has encouraged anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of Lopez-Sanchez to contact the FBI, saying that those who contact the bureau could “be eligible for a cash reward.”
If convicted, Lopez-Sanchez faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count of the indictment.
