Date: March 2, 2026

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LOS ANGELES - Two women - one from the Inland Empire and the other from Colorado - have been found guilty by a jury of a felony stalking charge for following a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation officer home and livestreaming their pursuit on social media, the Justice Department announced today.

Cynthia Raygoza of Riverside, CA and Ashleigh Brown of Aurora, CO, were found guilty late Friday of one count of stalking.

"Justice has been served against two agitators who stalked a federal employee, livestreamed it on social media, and traumatized both the victim and his family," said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. "Our Constitution protects peaceful protest - not political violence and unlawful intimidation."

According to evidence presented at a four-day trial, on Aug. 28, 2025, the defendants - while dressed in black and concealing their faces with black masks - followed the victim from a federal building in downtown Los Angeles to his personal residence. The victim was heading home to his family for an outing that included a surprise for his sons, ages three and seven.

The defendants livestreamed on their Instagram accounts their pursuit of the victim and provided directions as they followed the victim home, encouraging their viewers to share the livestream. The Instagram accounts they used to livestream the event were "ice_out_of_la," "defendmesoamericanculture," and "corn_maiden_design."

Upon arriving at the victim's neighborhood, the defendants shouted to bystanders while livestreaming on Instagram that their "neighbor is ICE," "la migra lives here," and "ICE lives on your street and you should know." Raygoza also threatened to "pop" the victim. Both the victim's wife and a concerned neighbor called 911 in response to the defendants' actions.

Brown then publicly disclosed on Instagram an address approximately 100 feet from the victim's home and told viewers, "Come on down." In response, several individuals - also wearing masks - appeared outside the victim's home.

The victim's wife - whom the defendants targeted with racial slurs - and children witnessed the incident and suffered emotional distress. The increased traffic from onlookers in the ensuing weeks caused the victim and his family to relocate to a different county. The forced move significantly disrupted the education of the victim's children. The victim's 3-year-old son, who has a disability, lost several social and health care benefits that were tied to his former county.

United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson scheduled a June 8 sentencing hearing, at which time Raygoza and Brown will face up to five years in federal prison.

The jury found Raygoza and Brown not guilty of one count of conspiracy to publicly disclose the personal information of a federal agent. The jury also acquitted Samane Sandra Carmona of Panorama City for both charges she faced.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated this matter. This case is part of the overall Violent Anarchist Task Force efforts where IRS-CI provides financial expertise and enforcement operation assistance.

Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren E. Border of the General Crimes Section and Clifford D. Mpare of the Major Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.