Judge Fernando Olguin dismissed a criminal case against Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a Los Angeles TikTok streamer whose posts have documented police and immigration enforcement activity, according to a ruling issued Saturday in federal court. Olguin dismissed the indictment against Parias “with prejudice,” meaning prosecutors cannot refile the same charges against him.
In the decision, Olguin said Parias’s constitutional rights were violated when federal authorities repeatedly failed to allow his criminal defense lawyers to visit or speak with him in immigration detention so he could prepare for trial this week. The judge said the government’s failure to coordinate between agencies while pursuing Parias’s criminal proceedings created a situation “from which constitutional violations could — and did — occur,” the ruling said.
Parias had been indicted last month and pleaded not guilty to federal charges including assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon and depredation of government property. The charges stemmed from an October incident federal authorities described as involving Parias ramming his vehicle into theirs while they tried to arrest him on an immigration warrant, after which he was shot in the elbow, according to the case background described in reporting.
After the indictment, Parias was released on bond pending trial and was taken to an immigration detention facility in Adelanto, California, when he was later held there, according to the government’s online database cited in the report. The detention facility is run by The GEO Group and is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Prosecutors said Parias is a Mexican citizen living in the United States illegally, the report said. The reporting also said a message seeking comment was left for immigration attorney Carlos Jurado.
Olguin’s ruling came as Parias remained in immigration detention, the report said, and it addressed a process problem tied to access for defense counsel rather than addressing the merits of the underlying incident. The decision dismisses the case in a way that blocks the government from bringing the same indictment again.
In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles said it was evaluating its options for appeal and “strongly disagree[d] with the court’s version of the facts as well as its legal conclusions,” according to the report.
Parias has more than 340,000 combined followers across two TikTok accounts and has posted Spanish-language videos since 2024, according to the reporting. His posts have included documentation of police activity and arrests as well as demonstrations against immigration enforcement, and the report said he was hospitalized initially after he was shot during the October arrest.