Petaluma native found guilty of conspiracy in Spokane anti-ICE demonstration. Some see it as a dangerous precedent
Bajun Mavalwalla texted a Press Democrat reporter on May 27 to say the jury had begun deliberations in the case of his son, who goes by the same name, and two other defendants in a case playing out in a Spokane, Washington, federal courtroom.
U.S. attorneys had charged them with conspiracy to impede or injure ICE officers following a standoff between demonstrators and immigration enforcement agents in that city in June 2025.
"We expect acquittal," the elder Mavalwalla noted at that time.
The jury delivered its verdicts the next day, in a packed courtroom. Following eight days of trial and more than a day of deliberations, the son, Bajun Dhunjisha Mavalwalla - known in the family, which has deep ties to Sonoma County, as Baji - was found guilty, along with co-defendants Jac Archer and Justice Forral.
The "Spokane Three," as they became known, await sentencing. Each faces up to six years in prison for the conspiracy charge.
The verdicts have perplexed, frightened and outraged many free speech advocates.
Richard Barker, who resigned his position as acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington rather than prosecute a case in which no one was seriously injured, told the Statesman-Review in Spokane, "I question whether justice truly was served by today's verdict."
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown commented in a news release that, "It was meant to make an example out of people who disagreed with federal immigration policy."
Bajun Ray Mavalwalla, the defendant's father, also weighed in.
"I do not think people understand just how important this is," he told The Press Democrat in a phone interview Wednesday, June 3. "Who's to say that, by the ruling they just made, you couldn't go to an ICE protest in Sonoma County and be charged with conspiracy."
This story will refer to the elder Mavalwalla as Bajun and the son as Baji, to avoid confusion.
Bajun was somewhere between Clarkston and Pomeroy, Washington, at the time of the interview, stumping for his campaign in the state's 5th Congressional District. Mavalwalla, who was highly involved in Sonoma County Democratic Party politics decades ago before moving, reiterated that while he has many reasons for running for Congress, his son's prosecution was the catalyst.
The government, not surprisingly, had its own thoughts on criticism of the guilty verdicts.
"Statements made by current or former public officials who never set foot in the courtroom during the trial bear no relevance to these facts or the outcome of this case," Pete Serrano, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, said in a news release announcing the convictions.
Baji Mavalwalla, 36, who grew up in Sonoma County and, like his father, served in the Army and had combat deployments in Afghanistan, remains free as his lawyers attempt to overturn his conviction. They are using a Rule 29 motion, which allows a judge to dismiss a jury verdict based on matters of law.
Bajun thinks his son's chances of success under Rule 29 are slim, but not zero. Unlike the other two convicted protesters, Baji wasn't found to have conspired against federal agents - an odd twist to his conviction.
His verdict, signed by the jury foreman, marks Baji guilty of conspiracy to impede or injure officers. But that X mark is followed by a section instructing the foreman to check off any of five findings in support of that verdict.
The first four pertain to the defendant conspiring to injure officers or their property, or to impede them from discharging their official duties. All of those are marked "no." The fifth asks whether Mavalwalla aided and abetted others who were conspiring to injure or impede officers. That one is marked "yes."
It's just one of the legal issues that has vexed the Mavalwallas.
U.S. attorneys were also successful in preventing a wide range of testimony from being introduced as evidence, including the resignations of Barker and his successor, Stephanie Van Marter; the subsequent release of one of the immigrants whose detention sparked the 2025 protest; and a memo from then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi directing federal prosecutors across the country to prioritize cases against demonstrators.
Bajun said he doesn't fault U.S. District Judge Rebecca L. Pennell, the federal jury or Spokane-area law enforcement, which never moved to charge his son. And Baji agrees.
"I'm frustrated that a vindictive administration is weaponizing the DOJ to target people standing up for their neighbors," he wrote to The Press Democrat. "That's not the fault of the jury nor the judge."
If Baji Mavalwalla's Rule 29 effort fizzles, he and his father said, he will likely file an appeal in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes the Pacific Northwest and California.
"I remain optimistic that justice will prevail," Baji said. "The system has these layers of protection for a reason, and I will use every opportunity to prove my innocence."
Bajun credited the attorneys who handled his son's case in U.S. District Court, but said the family is now talking to others with expertise in appellate law.
Baji's case stems from a tense, nine-hour standoff at a federal facility in Spokane, where protesters responded to a call on social media and attempted to block the transportation of immigrant detainees to a Tacoma courthouse. The scene grew chaotic. Protesters slashed the tires of transport vans. Local police fired smoke canisters into the crowd. ICE agents pushed people to the ground.
Five weeks later, Baji Mavalwalla was arrested outside his home in Spokane. Eight other people were rounded up in other locations and charged with conspiracy. None of them had been arrested at the ICE protest.
Six of the nine defendants wound up striking plea deals with federal prosecutors.
Mavalwalla refused. He told The Press Democrat he doesn't regret that decision in any way.
Among the Spokane defendants, it is Baji who has garnered the most media attention. That is due, in part, to his willingness to conduct occasional interviews. But his status as an Army veteran also makes him a sympathetic subject.
"I've been blown away by the widespread support for the Spokane 3," Baji said. "Local community support is very strong, national support is growing, and my GoFundMe continues to help offset my legal fees. I'm very grateful for that."
The GoFundMe account, established last summer but still pulling in sporadic donations, had topped $38,000 by Friday, June 5.
Serrano, the acting U.S. Attorney in the District of Eastern Washington, took a dig at popular support of the defendants in his post-verdict news release.
"The United States Attorney's Office has been encouraged to see so many members of the community engaged with this case," he wrote. "We look forward to the same level of public interest in all of our criminal cases against defendants charged with domestic violence and rape of children in Indian Country, human trafficking, fentanyl trafficking, violent felons with illegal arsenals, and the exploitation of children as young as infants and toddlers."
The elder Mavalwalla grew up on a farm outside Petaluma. His son split time between the farm and Cotati as a child, before attending both Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State University.
The Mavalwallas have very personal stakes in this case, obviously. But Bajun insists his motivations go beyond his son's welfare. He believes that if Donald Trump's Department of Justice scores a victory in the Spokane case, the agency will double down on prosecuting protesters.
"We are now literally in one of the most important sets of case law in the United States," Bajun said. "I do not think people understand just how important this is."
The defense team has until Thursday, June 11, to file briefs in support of their motions to dismiss. The government must then respond by June 25, and the defense will have another week beyond that to offer responses of its own.
You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @Skinny_Post.
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