Outside a Charlotte Immigration and Customs Enforcement office last fall, a plainclothes officer grabbed William Donovan Stanley from behind and said three words — and they weren’t “you’re under arrest.”

“Come here, motherf—er,” officer Jason Rajabi said as he lunged for the local college student, according to video and testimony revealed in federal court Monday.

Stanley is accused of blocking Rajabi’s car with his body, punching his car window and resisting arrest during a five-person protest outside the south Charlotte immigration office on Tyvola Centre Road on Nov. 16.

His co-defendant — Heather Morrow, a former Mecklenburg county commission candidate —is accused of interfering by parking her Subaru in front of the exit and touching Rajabi’s shoulder as he arrested Stanley.

Morrow and Stanley are on trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina this week. They each face a misdemeanor charge of assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating and interfering with government officials, as well as petty misdemeanor offenses of: obstructing entrances on a federal property; disrupting government officials’ duties and failing to comply with officials’ orders.

Defense attorneys focused the first day of trial on how immigration officers changed their accounts of what happened overtime and how they interacted with protesters. Federal prosecutors said Morrow and Stanley simply broke the law.

Their case is the last one involving accusations that U.S. citizens assaulted officers during the Trump administration’s “Operation Charlotte’s Web” in November. U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson’s office dropped charges against others accused of the same. Federal prosecutors also dropped initial federal felony charges filed against Morrow.

They were based on false claims that she jumped on top of Rajabi’s back, her attorneys say.

ICE agents in trial

Video shows Morrow, Stanley and three other people stood in the driveway of the immigration office as Rajabi tried to pull in to start his work day and change into his uniform. Rajabi called for back-up and told the group they would be arrested if they did not move. The protesters followed orders and moved out of the way, bystander video shows. Stanley then move ran back in front of Rajabi’s car.

As Rajabi tried to arrest Stanley, Morrow said “stop!” and reached for Rajabi’s shoulder, video shows, before another officer tackled her to the ground.

During the first day of trial Monday, attorney Claire Rauscher (who represents Stanley) asked Rajabi if it was reasonable for a person to try to protect themselves after someone grabbed them from behind and said “come here motherf—er” without identifying themselves.

“Yes, ma’am,” Rajabi, a deployed veteran of the U.S. infantry and ICE officer of six years replied. He added “sir” or “ma’am” to the end of everything he said in front of the jury.

Rauscher repeated the officer’s explicit phrase so much that U.S. District Judge Matthew Orso — recently appointed by President Donald Trump — interjected and asked attorneys to refrain from using it as much as possible.

During cross-examination, attorney Rob Heroy (who represents Morrow) asked why Rajabi’s initial November report says Morrow jumped on his back and that his colleagues quickly detained her from “further assaulting me.” Rajabi testified that Morrow in fact did not affect his attempt to arrest Stanley and did not jump on his back.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley argued that Stanley and Morrow came to federal property, blocked the entrance and exit and refused to follow rules meant to create peacefulness and predictability.

They “escalated the situation to a dangerous point” and had objects of obstruction: cones, cars and themselves. She told jurors to “pay attention to who acts and who reacts.”

Officers, she said, were just doing their jobs.

Heroy told jurors “it was a peaceful protest.”

“Then—“

He paused and slammed his hand down and repeated the phrase of focus:“‘Come here motherf—er.’”

Jurors and gallery members straightened in their seats as he foreshadowed what video and officer testimony would show.

Heroy told the jury of 10 women and four men that they don’t have to believe immigration agents, their government — or even the defense attorneys. But they should pay attention to who they think is reliable narrator in the case.

Tossed ICE assault charges

John Parke Davis and Melissa Owen, attorneys who represented two other men charged with assaulting agents, were in the gallery Monday.

Davis represented Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez, who was accused of using his car as a deadly weapon and hitting agents car during the same week in November when Morrow and Stanley were at the ICE office. iPhone video taken by agents and played in court showed agents planned to “smash” into Martinez.

His charges were dropped soon after.

Owen represented Cristobal Maltos, who was accused of interfering with agents and following them on his way to deliver groceries. Emergency audio showed Maltos called 911 after he said agents sideswiped his car and kept driving. He followed as an operator listened. Agents at a stop light blocked him in, smashed his window and threatened to shoot him.

His charges were thrown out before evidence could be presented in court.

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