Jose de Jesus Ortega, 38, of Highland, and Danielle Nadine Davila, 33, of Corona, were charged in a federal complaint with assaulting a federal officer and conspiracy to prevent by force and intimidation a federal officer from discharging his duties during a July 8 altercation in Ontario, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles.

Ortega was arrested this morning and expected to appear this afternoon in a Riverside courtroom. Authorities are searching for Davila. It was not immediately clear whether they have attorney show could comment on the cases against them.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the complaint, two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were conducting immigration enforcement operations in Ontario when they were following a truck that turned into a surgery center parking lot. Two of the three men ran away and a third, identified by authorities as a man from Honduras who was in the United States illegally, was "partially detained" near the surgery center entrance.

The man pulled way before he fell to the ground with an ICE officers, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Ortega and Davila then interfered with the arrest, the agency said.

Video showed the struggle in a hallway just inside the building.

The Law

Jose de Jesus Ortega and Danielle Nadine Davila have been charged with the following:

• Assaulting a federal officer: This charge stems from an incident on July 8, where Ortega and Davila, according to the Department of Justice, allegedly assaulted federal immigration officers attempting to detain an undocumented immigrant who had sought refuge in a surgery center.

• Conspiracy to prevent by force and intimidation a federal officer from discharging his duties: This charge relates to their alleged actions in obstructing the ICE officers' attempt to apprehend the individual inside the surgery center.

If convicted, Ortega and Davila could face a maximum statutory sentence of eight years in federal prison for the assault charge and up to six years for the conspiracy charge.