A woman facing federal charges for driving a U-Haul truck toward Coast Guard officers during a protest at Coast Guard Island last month was released on bail early Friday, according to an NBC news report.
The suspect, Bella Thompson, 26, was charged with “assaulting federal officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon by accelerating a U-Haul truck as it approached several United States Coast Guard (USCG) personnel on October 23,” according to information released by the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.
The incident occurred at around 10 p.m. at the entrance to Coast Guard Island, after a daylong protest responding to the arrival of federal agents for a major immigration enforcement operation, which was later called off. Prosecutors allege that Thompson arrived at the intersection where a few dozen protesters remained and then reversed the truck onto the bridge and defied orders to stop, according to the NBC report. Coast Guard personnel, who allegedly feared for their lives, then opened fire on the truck, striking Thompson and a bystander, prosecutors say.
Thompson appeared in court for a bail hearing that was sealed to the public because defense attorneys said it would include discussion of her mental health diagnosis as well as medical and hospitalization information, according to a KQED report.
Prosecutors argued that Thompson should remain in custody pending trial, calling her a “danger to the community” and citing her attempt to flee detention by running away from Highland Hospital on the night of her arrest. According to police reports, Thompson asked to use the restroom and then tried to escape Alameda police officers. The officers stated that they then tackled her to the ground and handcuffed her to a gurney.
Thompson’s attorneys with the Federal Public Defender’s office argued that she has no previous criminal history, and that her parents had signed on as custodians of a $50,000 unsecured bond that requires Thompson to reside at their Southern California home while attending an outpatient mental health treatment program. According to court documents, the program meets five days per week for five hours a day.
Thompson was released at around 2:30 a.m., according to her attorneys. District Judge Casey Pitts stated that the conditions of her release had been “appropriately tailored … to avoid risk to the community.”
