A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer is facing criminal charges months after a tense immigration protest outside Durango’s ICE field office erupted into chaos and was captured on video.
Nicholas Rice, 47, has been charged with a misdemeanor and a petty offense after prosecutors reviewed footage that appears to show a protester being shoved to the ground during the October confrontation. He has been served with a summons rather than arrested and is scheduled for an advisement hearing on May 27. The case traces back to clashes that followed the Oct. 28, 2025, detention of a father and his two children.
According to The Denver Post, the Sixth Judicial District Attorney's Office filed the criminal complaint and chose a court summons instead of seeking an arrest warrant. Court records reviewed by the outlet identify Rice as a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer and spell out the misdemeanor and petty-offense counts. Although the incident unfolded during an immigration-enforcement operation, the filing puts Rice on a state criminal track.
Video Prompts CBI Probe
Video obtained by Denver7 appears to show a federal agent swatting a woman’s phone away, grabbing her and then throwing her to the pavement during the Oct. 28 protest. In the aftermath, Durango Police Chief Brice Current asked the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to step in, and the CBI said it would review the encounter to determine whether state criminal laws were broken.
Witness video and local accounts describe a chaotic scene outside the ICE office, with pepper‑ball rounds fired and scuffles breaking out between protesters and federal agents. The charges against Rice came more than five months after that clash, and The Denver Post reports that Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday night.
State prosecutors say they will lean on the CBI’s findings along with witness footage as they decide how to move forward. Because the confrontation unfolded in the middle of an immigration operation, officials note that separate administrative or federal reviews could also be in play behind the scenes.
Why The Protest Erupted
The Durango demonstrations kicked off after immigration agents detained Fernando Jaramillo-Solano and his two children, a move that sent neighbors and advocates into the street. People formed human chains in an effort to block the family’s removal, according to Colorado Public Radio, which reports that protesters tried to shield the children as federal agents attempted to transport them.
Community advocates say the family had an active asylum case at the time and have pressed immigration officials for more transparency around how and why the detention happened. Those questions, combined with the videos of the confrontation outside the ICE office, helped turn a local standoff into a broader flashpoint.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has said it will deliver its findings to the Sixth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, The Colorado Sun reported. Durango officials also said the FBI examined elements of the encounter because it took place on federal property. That mix of state and federal scrutiny is a big part of why the case has grabbed attention well beyond La Plata County.
Prosecutors will now weigh the CBI report alongside video evidence and witness statements as they decide whether and how aggressively to pursue the misdemeanor and petty-offense charges against Rice.
What To Watch In Court
Rice’s May 27 advisement hearing will be the first formal step in court, a routine proceeding that sets the early schedule and next appearances in the case. Behind that dry procedural label sits a community that has already made clear it is watching closely.
Hundreds of residents and local leaders pressed city officials at a special Durango City Council meeting to demand accountability, according to The Durango Herald. Depending on how prosecutors proceed, the case could end in a plea deal, go to trial, or be dismissed.
Gov. Jared Polis said he was “deeply concerned” about the detainment and movement of the children, and Sen. Michael Bennet expressed outrage, highlighting how the saga has drawn scrutiny from the top levels of Colorado politics, Denver7 noted.
For Durango residents who pulled out their phones and recorded what happened outside the ICE office, the charges against Rice amount to at least some validation that those clips are being taken seriously by prosecutors. The advisement hearing next month will be the first public test of what that accountability might actually look like.
