LAFAYETTE, IN — It’s been 98 days since Lake County Deputy Special Prosecutor Jovanni Miramontes wrote to the Tippecanoe Circuit Court that she’d have a decision in 90 days on whether to file charges from a fight during the April 5 protest against President Donald Trump.
Tippecanoe Circuit Judge Sean Persin filed an order Friday asking Miramontes of the Lake County’s prosecutor’s office or Lake County Special Prosecutor Bernard Carter to file a progress report within 15 days. At the end of the 14 days, it will be April 4 — one day shy of the one-year mark for the dust-up at the corner of Third and Columbia streets.
Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Patrick Harrington said he filed for a special prosecutor because someone in his office is related to a protester involved in the confrontation.
James Jordan was driving westbound on Columbia Street, intending to turn north onto Third Street, according to video and police. He became angry when protesters crossing the street blocked him from turning, according to a Lafayette police statement last year.
Jordan got out of his truck, walked to the sidewalk and yelled at the protesters for blocking the road, according to what witnesses said and what the Journal & Courier captured on video.
During this confrontation, a man reported to be Jeremy Marks confronted Jordan and headbutted him, giving Jordan a bloody nose, according to police and the video.
Jordan was seen going back to his truck, where he retrieved what appeared to be a small semiautomatic rifle, according to the video. He returned to the crowd, repeatedly saying “911,” apparently asking someone to call police, according to the video. Protest organizers are seen trying to de-escalate the situation.
On the video, Jordan can be seen with the firearm, but he does not appear to point it at anyone in the crowd. Marks’ girlfriend who was at the protest told the Journal & Courier she saw Jordan pointing the firearm at a person.
Police arrived and detained Jordan, later releasing him.
But police later arrested Marks on suspicion of battery, and he bonded out of jail the same day, according to Journal & Courier reports from the April 5 rally.
Marks later spoke with the Journal & Courier and claimed he was not at the rally because of politics.
“I heard a bunch of commotion, and I looked up and I see some guy getting out his truck,” Marks told the Journal & Courier in a story published April 7. “I seen him walk up to the crossing guards … I seen him put his hands on an older lady.”
“I know people have my arms, and I just, I just lost it and just headbutted,” he said, according to the Journal & Courier report. “I didn’t do it for no other reason but for that old lady. He shouldn’t (have) put his hands on that old lady.”
Asked whether he regretted hitting Jordan, Marks replied, “Not at all,” because “he put his hands on that woman.”
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Judge wants update on charges from 2025 Trump protest fight in Lafayette
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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