Five Arrested at Conroe Immigration Protest

CONROE, TX -- The planned protest on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations in downtown Conroe did materialize around 2 pm Saturday, running into dusk. Initially, the protesters, mostly young Hispanic males and females, lined the streets at the intersection on W. Phillips St. and W. Davis St. in Conroe, holding their country of origin flags signs as cars passed the area. One U.S. and Texas flag were seen. Multiple law enforcement agencies were on-scene as it appears a fight broke out, and protesters were impeding traffic. Saturday’s protest is the result of a local television station report at Conroe High School of an incident between a teacher and student in an immigration debate. Video out of Huntsville has been seen Saturday evening, with the mostly young, peaceful protesting at one major intersection in that city.

The potential for an ICE raid on schools is a possibility as President Donald Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan is saying that he is not pulling any punches on immigration raids to apprehend illegal immigrants. When the border czar was asked by a reporter what criminals are hiding in schools? Homan noted that there are numerous MS-13 members aged 14 to 17 in schools, and that he will expand ICE to eventually to focus on anyone in the U.S. illegally.

‘Title 8 United States Code 1324 (iii),’ is constantly referenced by Homan, which gives him the authority of his office, and he is very serious about his job, noting it's a felony if anyone knowingly harbors or conceals an illegal alien from immigration authorities, or impedes a federal law enforcement officer, in their line of duty.

Around 4 pm the younger protesters began to impede traffic, as businesses were complaining all their parking spaces were being taken by the protesters and they were unable to conduct proper business. As nearby police moved in on the scene the crowd started to get more agitated.

“One female was arrested after throwing a water bottle and hitting a Conroe Officer in the head,” said Scott Engle of Montgomery County Police Reporter. “Protesters carrying signs began walking in the roadway. Conroe Police advised them they needed to be on the sidewalk which was ignored until one adult female was able to get most of the crowd off the street.”

Engle went on to say that there was no destruction of property in today’s event, and that at times traffic came to a standstill in the downtown area. As law enforcement started closing roads the evening started to wane for the protesters, and as the sun dipped below the horizon, the crowd migrated towards W. Davis and the interstate, where the street had been blocked by police forcing drivers to turn around. The crowd started to break up at that point.

Agencies assisting Conroe PD were the DPS Troopers, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department and Montgomery County Constables from Precinct 1 and 2. Sheriff Doolittle was quick to point out that any protester breaking the law would immediately be arrested, and Brett Ligon, Montgomery County District Attorney passed on that protesters assaulting any officers of the law, would be prosecuted to the standards of Texas law.

Conroe Mayor Duke Coon, released a short statement on the protest, “I want our citizens to know that our officers did an outstanding job managing this situation. Our city is safe. To those individuals planning to come to our community to cause chaos, attack our officers, and break our laws, your actions will not be tolerated, and you will be arrested.”

“Mayor Coon says he and the City of Conroe's departments including Conroe PD will work to keep the peace,” said Monte Harris Lane, in a Facebook post. “Conroe will work with ICE to enforce any laws President Trump enacts to keep America safe and protected.”

So far, no new plans have been announced about any further protests. A total of four individuals were arrested during the protest for different offenses, Ruby Elizabeth Meza, 19, from Conroe; Duanterrus Trevon Hatchett, 24, from Conroe; Zain Abedien Naboulsi Jr., 55, from Conroe; and Anthony Lamar Richardson Jr., 26, from Cleveland. One juvenile was also taken into police custody.

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