A Russian national classified as a known or suspected terrorist allegedly attempted to bite off a deportation officer’s pinky as he was being apprehended in downtown Los Angeles.
The 35-year-old Russian national, Maksim Zaitsev, was reportedly classified as a known or suspected terrorist when he was taken into custody by federal authorities at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in downtown Los Angeles.
Zaitsev was asked to come to the ICE office so that the agency could review his immigration status. Federal immigration enforcement officials were waiting for him at the office and took him into custody before the Russian national allegedly resisted arrest and even bit the pinky finger of one deportation officer, drawing blood and breaking the man’s finger, the federal prosecutor’s office said.
“The men and women of Immigration and Customs Enforcement are critical to protecting national security and public safety and upholding the rule of law,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “As alleged in the felony criminal complaint, the defendant attacked a deportation officer. He will be held accountable for his actions.”
Zaitsev has been charged with assault on a federal employee resulting in physical injury and could now face up to 20 years in prison if he is found guilty.
Law enforcement and federal prosecutors in the Central District of California, which covers Los Angeles county and adjacent counties, have recently worked to bust other foreign nationals in the Los Angeles area, recently nabbing a ring of alleged human smugglers.
McNally’s office recently busted a group of Guatemalan human smugglers who are believed to be responsible for trafficking 20,000 people into the United States. Six men were captured, with four of them potentially facing the death penalty for their role in trafficking operations that resulted in the deaths of seven different people, including a four-year-old boy. McNally’s office alleges that one of the men caused a car accident in Oklahoma, resulting in the deaths of the seven individuals.
