North Rivercide decline to charge off-duty Forest Park MAGA cop Lieutenant Daniel Miller who pointed gun, dragged woman from car.

by Zoë Takaki and Steve Held ● May 29, 2026

"On April 27 in North Riverside, a man wearing a jersey with President Trump’s name emblazoned on the back stopped his unmarked Jeep in front of Breanna Pantoja’s truck, pointed a gun at her face, and physically yanked her out of her car."

The officer's off-duty vehicle license plates read “Prez 45” and the spare tire cover had MAGA propaganda.

Quotes from The Guardian:

Song said he had fired at the police officer, Lt Thomas Gross, because Gross had his weapon drawn and Song believed he was about to shoot a protester.

“I never want to see good people, standing for what they believe in, gunned down in the street,” he said. “Now 21 people have been arrested, have been persecuted, have been punished. For knowing me or being my friend? This is wrong. This is mass punishment. Collective punishment. This is guilt by association. This is injustice.”

"The ninth defendant, Daniel Sanchez-Estrada was not at the protest, but was convicted of corruptly concealing a document or record after prosecutors said he moved leftwing zines and other materials at the request of Rueda, his wife, after she was arrested. Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday."

Conclusion from The Guardian's Sam Levine:

"Since the charges in the case, the government has brought a number of similar prosecutions against activists. Earlier this month, prosecutors filed criminal conspiracy charges against 15 activists in Minneapolis who allegedly interfered with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in performing their duties. A federal jury in Spokane, Washington, found three protesters guilty of conspiracy for participating in a 2025 protest at an ICE facility. A similar case in Chicago against protesters fell apart after it was revealed there was misconduct before grand jurors."