- “Mr. Leal has a Constitutional right to protest against injustice in this country. Sadly, the SFPD and District Attorney’s Office treated the exercise of his First Amendment rights like a crime instead of a lawful act of courage. The judges who reviewed this case were fair and reached a just outcome.” – Deputy Public Defender Nuha Abusamra
By Vanguard Staff
SAN FRANCISCO – A San Francisco judge dismissed all charges Tuesday against Luis Leal, 29, who was arrested June 8 in front of the immigration courthouse at 100 Montgomery Street while peacefully protesting violent ICE raids in Los Angeles.
According to court filings, San Francisco Police Department officers shoved Leal with a baton while yelling at him to move. His hands instinctively went up to the baton in self-defense. Deputy Public Defender Nuha Abusamra showed the court SFPD body-worn camera footage that revealed officers had already put hands on Leal before he could respond to their verbal command.
“This all happened so quickly that Mr. Leal put his hands up to protect himself from getting hit with the baton. He was not blocking the police when they told him to move, and he was the only person who was injured in this interaction with police,” said Abusamra, who noted that Leal spent three nights in jail before being released at arraignment.
The District Attorney’s Office initially charged Leal with a felony for allegedly removing an officer’s weapon—a baton—while resisting arrest, and a misdemeanor for allegedly failing to obey a command. At a preliminary hearing, a judge reduced the felony to a misdemeanor, but prosecutors continued pursuing the case. On Oct. 15, a trial judge reviewed the body-worn footage, and on Oct. 29, dismissed the case entirely.
“Mr. Leal is a proud Mexican-American who was peacefully protesting in solidarity with the people of Los Angeles and around the Bay Area after the first surge of violent and unlawful ICE raids in our communities,” said Abusamra. “Mr. Leal has a Constitutional right to protest against injustice in this country. Sadly, the SFPD and District Attorney’s Office treated the exercise of his First Amendment rights like a crime instead of a lawful act of courage. The judges who reviewed this case were fair and reached a just outcome.”
“I commend Ms. Abusamra for her pursuit of justice for Mr. Leal, who never should have been physically attacked by SFPD officers or unfairly charged with a crime by the District Attorney’s Office,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “This case illustrates the importance of having excellent public defenders to help prevent wrongful convictions and unfair pleas that can carry lifelong consequences.”
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office is also prosecuting the “Golden Gate 26,” who protested U.S. funding of Israel’s bombing of Gaza on the Golden Gate Bridge on Tax Day 2025. The office also previously prosecuted demonstrators from the Bay Bridge protest during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in December 2023. The Public Defender’s Office is defending two of the Golden Gate 26 and previously represented one Bay Bridge protester.
