SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A man who was shot multiple times during an arrest last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in central California was charged Tuesday with assaulting a federal officer.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California alleges that Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez drove forward and struck a federal agent with his car and reversed back into a law enforcement vehicle after he was pulled over April 7.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire at a hearing in Sacramento raised questions about not releasing him on bond, saying: “This isn’t someone who is seeking out law enforcement to target.” She ordered Mendoza released from jail on a $50,000 bond, saying that he likely poses no threat to the public or being a flight risk. But she agreed to give a higher court judge 48 hours to affirm or overturn the ruling.
Mendoza was in a wheelchair when he appeared in court, a day after he was released from intensive care after undergoing multiple surgeries and arrested outside a hospital. A translator told him what was being said throughout the hearing, and he nodded his head as the judge read the conditions of his release.
Outside the courthouse after the hearing, about eight protesters held up signs and chanted, “Justice for Carlos” in support of Mendoza. Cars honked as they passed by.
The Department of Homeland Security said ICE agents fired defensive shots at Mendoza after he tried to drive into them. DHS said they were conducting an enforcement stop targeting Mendoza, 36, in Patterson, a city about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco.
Officials described him as a suspected gang member wanted for questioning in El Salvador related to a killing, though those allegations were not mentioned in the hearing, nor in the complaint, which stated that Mendoza, a dual citizen of El Salvador and Mexico, was targeted that morning because he is in the United States illegally.
David Harshaw, a public defender representing Mendoza, said he doesn't have a criminal record and should be allowed to go home immediately. He doesn't pose a danger to the public, especially due to his injuries, he said.
U.S. attorney Jason Hitt said Mendoza might try to flee if he is released, saying that he didn't obey officers' orders during the April 7 arrest.
Patrick Kolasinski, another lawyer for Mendoza, has said his client panicked and tried to flee when ICE agents blocked his car.
“We are prepared to fight them,” Kolasinski said of the allegations.
Dashcam footage obtained by KCRA-TV shows three officers standing around a vehicle stopped on the side of a road. One of the officers appears to be touching the driver’s side window when the car begins to back up and turn, hitting a vehicle behind it. At least two of the agents have weapons drawn, pointing at the car. The driver then pulls forward toward where the men are standing and turns sharply, driving over the roadway median.
The video has no sound, and it’s unclear when the shots were fired or if any of them said anything.
In the complaint, officials said four agents pulled Mendoza over and he refused instructions to get out of the vehicle. Two agents were on the driver side and two were on the passenger side of his car. One agent then broke a passenger window to get him out as Mendoza put the car in drive and moved forward, hitting an agent, according to court documents. He then reversed and smashed into an ICE vehicle before accelerating as one agent jumped out of the way, the complaint states.
Kolasinski has said agents fired on Mendoza while the car was stopped and he drove away to flee the gunfire.
“He is doing everything he can to not run them over,” the attorney said of his client’s reaction during the stop.
Kolasinski also disputes DHS claims that there was a warrant out for his client's arrest. He said Mendoza, who is engaged to a U.S. citizen, is a laborer and father of a 2-year-old girl. He said he has been stopped for minor traffic infractions but has no criminal record in the U.S. and is not the subject of an arrest warrant in El Salvador, where he was acquitted of murder.
Neither DHS nor ICE have responded to Associated Press requests for comment on the lawyer’s claims.
The event was among a string of shootings during the Trump administration’s aggressive push to detain and deport immigrants in the country illegally, about which questions have been raised with federal immigration officials.
Mendoza underwent three surgeries for multiple gunshot wounds, his attorney said. Mendoza has difficulty speaking because he was shot in the jaw, and he insists he was never a gang member, Kolasinski said.
According to an Oct. 25, 2019, court document from a judge in El Salvador, Mendoza was acquitted after being accused of murder and ordered immediately released. The document contains no mention of Mendoza belonging to a gang or being accused of engaging in gang activity.
Patrick Kolasinski, attorney for Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, speaks at a news conference accompanied by his client's girlfriend, Cindy, in Modesto, Calif., Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Patrick Kolasinski, an immigration attorney representing Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, a man shot during an arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, talks to reporters Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tom Cruise, in very Tom Cruise fashion, arrived at Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s doorstep by motorcycle. He’d been wanting to work with Iñárritu for years and, when he got the call about “Digger,” he figured it was the fastest way.
Both Cruise and Iñárritu took the stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Tuesday as part of the Warner Bros. presentation to preview the satirical film, which comes out in October.
“The movie is wild, it’s funny,” said Cruise.
Iñárritu called Cruise’s performance “a high-wire act.” In new footage, he’s sporting a potbelly, a receding hairline and an R-rated vocabulary as the world’s most powerful man.
“We know that he’s fearless, the stunts, the planes, the jumps, but I have to say embodying this character, this is another kind of fearless,” Iñárritu said. “This role could possibly be the most challenging.”
“Digger” was just one part of the massive presentation from the storied studio which is fresh off best picture, best actor and best director wins at the Oscars last month.
Pam Abdy and Mike DeLuca, the co-chairs and CEOs of the studio’s motion picture group, kicked off the presentation reflecting on their successes since coming into the job in 2022 and their vision for the future with a mix of franchises and original films.
“Originality is not risky,” DeLuca said. “Derivative sameness is.”
Abdy noted that not everything is going to work, either, but that just comes with taking big swings. One thing they’re especially optimistic about is Generation Alpha’s enthusiasm for the movie theater experience.
“We are at a crucial, critical moment in time with this audience,” Abdy said. “The Letterboxd generation is only growing.”
They announced that Warner Bros. will be releasing Sean Baker’s follow-up to “Anora,” “TI AMO!” under their new label Clockwork next year.
There was also a breakneck video rundown of their 2027 releases, with stars and filmmakers getting about 30 seconds each, often from set, to tease their films: Margot Robbie on her “Ocean’s” prequel set in 1962; Keanu Reeves, floating in the water in the Dominican Republic, on getting eaten by sharks in “Shiver”; Gollum being, well, Gollum; and Nancy Meyers on the set of her romantic comedy that she called “a bit of a love letter to the world of making movies.”
This year is not just business as usual, with its pending acquisition by another legacy studio, Paramount, looming.
Filmmakers like Denis Villeneuve and J.J. Abrams are expected to make appearances to hype their upcoming films with Warner Bros. Villeneuve has “Dune: Part Three” arriving in December, and Abrams has a Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega sci-fi movie, “The Great Beyond” in November. The two filmmakers also share something beyond fall releases for the same studio: Unequivocal opposition to the merger. They were among the over 1,000 signers of an open letter published Monday to a website called BlocktheMerger.com. Some attendees at the convention have also been wearing #blockthemerger pins as well.
Greg Marcus, whose company's Marcus Theaters is the fourth largest theater circuit in the United States with 78 locations in 17 states told The Associated Press Monday that he was concerned as well for what it means for moviegoers and the price of tickets.
“The concentration of power at the studio level has allowed them to raise the cost of going to the movies to the consumer quite significantly,” Marcus said. “Our margins are no better. We’re not making more money. And yet the cost to the consumer has far outpaced inflation.”
Michael O’Leary, the president and CEO of the movie theater trade organization, reiterated his group’s opposition to the merger Tuesday morning.
“Consolidation results in fewer films being produced for movie theaters,” he said. “We believe this transaction will be harmful to exhibition, consumers and the entire industry.”
O'Leary told reporters that the decision is in the hands of regulators now.
Not everyone in the business of making and releasing movies is opposed to a Paramount owned Warner Bros. James Cameron is, in fact, a supporter. He also publicly opposed the idea of a Netflix owned Warner Bros. because of the possible implications for theaters. But he doesn't have the same fears with Paramount.
Speaking to the AP last week on behalf of the upcoming big screen concert film “Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D),” which is being released by Paramount, Cameron said “I’m a supporter of it, I know it’s controversial.”
Cameron worked with Paramount Skydance chair and CEO David Ellison closely on “Terminator: Dark Fate.” Ellison has promised to grow the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. slates to some 30 theatrical releases a year.
“I know David quite well. And I know that he really cares about movies. And he’s a natural born storyteller and thinks like almost an old school entrepreneurial producer that was a storyteller that loves storytelling and loved putting on spectacular shows,” Cameron said. “He’s the right man for the job to run a major studio, and now it looks like he’s going to have two of them, you know, swept under his leadership, which doesn’t bother me at all.”
Michael O'Leary, president/CEO of Cinema United, speaks during the state of the industry and Neon presentation at CinemaCon on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Michael O'Leary, president/CEO of Cinema United, speaks during the state of the industry and Neon presentation at CinemaCon on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
A CinemaCon attendee takes a picture of advertisements for upcoming films during the opening day of CinemaCon 2026, the official convention of Cinema United, on Monday, April 13, 2026, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
A pin expressing opposition to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger is displayed during CinemaCon 2026 on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
A maintenance worker walks past advertisements for the upcoming films "The Devil Wears Prada," left, and "Supergirl" during the opening day of CinemaCon 2026, the official convention of Cinema United, on Monday, April 13, 2026, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
