Federal agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security took two people into custody on Thursday morning, March 26, at the Marion County Circuit Court in downtown Salem. That included a Salem man, 39-year-old Daniel Lopez-Mojica, who was arrested by Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies then turned over to federal authorities, according to a Thursday afternoon statement from the office.  Lopez-Mojica was the subject of an arrest warrant signed by a federal magistrate judge, according to the sheriff’s office. Federal agents arrested a second person, who was not identified, without help from deputies, according to the statement. Agents had an administrative warrant for that person’s arrest, the sheriff’s office said. Spokespeople for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to a request for more details about the incident sent Thursday morning. Witnesses, including public defenders and representatives of advocacy groups, described the arrests as immigration-related, which the sheriff’s office would not confirm. “Somebody could read between the lines,” said Sgt. Jeremy Schwab, the agency’s spokesman. Lopez-Mojica was scheduled to appear in Marion County Circuit Court Thursday morning for a status check in a criminal case. Marion County prosecutors charged him in November with unlawful possession of a weapon in a domestic violence case, a class C felony. Agents from the Department of Homeland Security contacted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office shortly after 8 a.m., with notice that they were at the downtown Salem courthouse seeking to arrest two people, according to the sheriff’s office statement. The sheriff’s office provides security personnel for the courthouse. They showed the security team’s supervisor a warrant for Lopez-Mojica’s arrest, signed by a U.S. magistrate judge, which the sheriff’s team confirmed was “valid and serviceable by local law enforcement.” According to the statement, the sheriff’s team was not involved in making the second arrest. That person was taken into subject by DHS agents, according to the statement. “Deputies witnessed the suspect resist arrest as DHS agents attempted to take him into custody. DHS agents were able to restrain the subject without JSU intervention,” the sheriff’s office said, using an acronym for its Judicial Security Unit. “After the subject was taken into custody by DHS agents, a JSU deputy was assigned to escort DHS agents through publicly accessible areas as they removed the disorderly arrestee from the courthouse to ensure there were no further disruptions to court operations.” Salem Reporter witnessed what appeared to be two law enforcement agents in plain clothes, one wearing a black mask, escorting a man from the courthouse steps to an unmarked vehicle parked on State Street around 8:55 a.m. The arresting agents were followed closely by two uniformed deputies observing the arrest and surrounding areas. The agents’ uniforms and car did not identify whether they were immigration officers or their agency. Lopez-Mojica’s attorney, listed in court records, is part of the Marion County Association of Defenders, or MCAD. Executive Director Olcott Thompson said in an email that several people saw an arrest made inside the courthouse on the fifth floor. “MCAD’s comment as an organization is that the arrest of the person with the administrative warrant should not have taken place in the courthouse but should have taken place outside of the courthouse, a building that has only one entrance and one exit for the public and thank you to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office for their professionalism and courtesy to Mr. Lopez-Mojica and his attorney,” Thompson said. Oregon’s sanctuary law generally bars state and local government employees, including law enforcement, from assisting in immigration enforcement. The law allows for assistance when federal agents have a warrant signed by a judge. Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251. Make Salem Reporter your trusted source for accurate, independent local news – every day. Stay informed and connected to your community. Subscribe today. The post Federal agents arrest 2 at downtown Salem courthouse appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less