A veteran U.S. Border Patrol Agent who was featured in news reports as an example of women in law enforcement faces federal charges over allegations that she violated a person’s civil rights while on duty.
Agent Adriana Gandarilla is scheduled to go before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker today, where she will be formally notified of the charges against her, arrested, followed by a temporary bond hearing. Federal prosecutors charge Gandarilla with one count of Deprivation of Civil Rights through a criminal information document. This type of charging document is similar to a criminal complaint, but is routinely used before an arrest.
According to the document, the case is tied to a U.S. Border Patrol action on May 6, 2018, in La Joya, Texas, when authorities went to the home of a woman identified only as “M.P.” who is listed as a victim. Available information on the case does not show what agents were doing at the residence, but according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, M.P. used a phone to record when Gandarilla ordered the woman to stop and then grabbed her by the neck and arms and ordered the footage be deleted.
Federal prosecutors claim Gandarilla is a senior agent with 19 years of experience with the U.S. Border Patrol. Gandarilla was also featured in a 2019 series by the local news station KGBT about women in law enforcement.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that if convicted, Gandarilla could face up to one year in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
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