Agent Mario Alberto Morales charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon over incident in Houston

A federal immigration agent who drove into and seriously injured a Texas man on 10 October after a botched traffic stop was indicted Friday on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Mario Alberto Morales, 33, an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), deliberately veered his SUV into Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, causing multiple leg fractures and a hip injury, journalists at a news conference in Houston were told.

In announcing the charge against Morales, Harris county district attorney Sean Teare questioned the training that Morales, a recent appointment by ICE, had received – and denounced the activities and conduct of the agency in support of the frequently violent immigration crackdown during Donald Trump’s second presidency.