A Colorado man arrested for firing his gun toward police and media helicopters during a recent protest in Denver has been identified as a Mexican citizen who was previously deported from the United States.
Felix Missael Alva of Aurora, Colorado, was taken into custody Monday. Alva was charged with possession of a firearm while being in the U.S. illegally after being removed from the country in 2010, according to the Associated Press. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that handles deportation proceedings, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Court documents indicate Alva had made anti-police comments and then began shooting at law enforcement and television crews during a Black Lives Matter protest in May following the death of George Floyd. The arrest affidavit states that the suspect rode up in a white Jeep Grand Cherokee to a plainclothes detective near the Colorado Capitol on May 30 and complained, “This ain’t no peaceful protest.”
Alva made other derogatory statements, including calling officers “pigs,” then pulled his gun and shot toward police six to 10 times before speeding away. Law enforcement used his license plate information to track down the suspect. During a search of his home, they found a .45-caliber handgun that the detective said resembled what Alva allegedly used on May 30.
Police also found anti-police signs and artillery shell fireworks inside his Jeep that they said were used against police in earlier protests.
Alva is being represented by a federal public defender.
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