Jacob Nathaniel Len, 30, of Ypsilanti, has been charged with impeding, intimidating, and interfering with Border Patrol agents who were transporting 15 undocumented immigrants to a correctional facility in northern Michigan. Authorities allege he flipped off the agents and cut in front of their vehicles, nearly causing them to crash.
A criminal complaint alleges that on July 7, four uniformed U.S. Border Patrol agents in two marked Border Patrol service vehicles were transporting the immigrants on I-96 from the Gibraltar Border Patrol Station to the North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin.
Around 6 p.m., near Kensington Road, Len began driving his BMW sedan toward one of the marked Border Patrol vehicles and flipped off the agents with his middle finger, authorities alleged in a criminal complaint unsealed on Monday.
He then abruptly cut in front of the transport van without signaling and rapidly slowed down, "forcing the driver of the transport van to quickly brake to avoid a collision," the U.S. Attorney's Office alleged in a press release. The driver of the trailing Border Patrol vehicle was also forced to brake suddenly to avoid crashing into the transport van.
Len then repeated his sudden braking maneuver twice before exiting the freeway, authorities alleged.
Federal agents interviewed Len at his home on July 30 and confirmed he was driving on I-96 that day, according to an FBI affidavit.
An attorney for Len was not listed in court records, and attempts to contact him through social media were unsuccessful.
“The alleged actions of this man are shameful,” said Detroit U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. in a statement. “While zipping around in his BMW, this defendant cavalierly endangered the hardworking agents who put their lives on the line every day protecting our country, the illegal aliens they were tasked with safely transporting, and other drivers going about their lives.”
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