DHS says assaults on federal officers have spiked. San Diego prosecutions show more nuanced view.

Federal agents were staking out a Linda Vista apartment complex one morning last summer when they spotted the man they were looking for, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, walking to his car. The agents quickly moved in, using their vehicles to box his Ford Mustang into its parking spot.

The target of that operation allegedly struck one of the law enforcement vehicles while trying to drive away, prompting the agents to arrest him on suspicion of assaulting a federal officer. Before long, activists opposed to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown showed up to observe and protest; a confrontation ensued, and soon three of them were arrested and charged with the same crime of assaulting federal officers.

In many respects, the events of that July 2 morning in Linda Vista were similar to scenes that have played out across the country since President Donald Trump took office last year. Amid his administration’s unprecedented campaign of deportations, activists and community members have protested and organized patrol groups to monitor immigration enforcement. Agents and community members have sometimes clashed, including last month in Minneapolis, when agents shot and killed Reneé Good and Alex Pretti.

So far, however, San Diego has mostly escaped such dramatic confrontations in large ...