A federal judge in New Mexico sentenced a Salvadoran woman to prison after she violently assaulted a Border Patrol agent last year. The incident took place along the state’s border with Mexico in May 2024.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico reported that a federal judge sentenced 27-year-old Erika Jasmin Lobato-Melendez to 12 months and one day in prison following her conviction for assaulting a U.S. Border Patrol agent. On May 29, 2024, Lobato-Melendez crossed the border from Mexico into New Mexico with a group of four other migrants.
El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar posted a statement on X from U.S. Attorney’s Office.
El Salvadoran woman sentenced for assaulting a Border Patrol Agent. Read the full story from the U.S. Attorney’s Office here. https://t.co/6utdT2A8a1 pic.twitter.com/x630Vlw2Ka
— Walter N. Slosar (@USBPChiefEPT) February 14, 2025
As agents attempted to take the Salvadoran woman into custody, she became “obstinate” and refused to follow orders to get in the agent’s vehicle. She then grabbed onto the border wall and had to be wrestled away.
As agents attempted to pull her away from the wall, Lobat0-Melendez bit down on an agent’s forearm. The attack caused bruising, swelling, and abrasions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated. The agents took her to the ground and she continued fighting.
While on the ground, she attempted to bite the agent’s leg and kicked him.
Upon completing her sentence, the Salvadoran woman will be placed on two years of supervised release and placed into deportation proceedings.
The attack on the agents was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Border Patrol.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
