‘We as American citizens have a duty to disobey.’ Man found guilty after trial for assaulting and resisting officers

IDAHO FALLS – After a two-day trial, a jury found an Idaho Falls man guilty of punching and obstructing officers. The man claims he was disobeying an unlawful order.

What’s this case about?

The incident occurred on June 14 outside of O’Brady’s Family Restaurant, 1438 West Broadway Street. According to court documents, Idaho Falls police were initially called to the location to investigate a possible DUI.

During the traffic stop of an unrelated individual, officers reported that a man, later identified as Christian James Markmiller, walked up and recorded the stop on his phone.

The report states Markmiller was circling the stop and was yelling derogatory remarks at the officers.

However, officers told Markmiller it was OK to record, but to stay away while they dealt with the stop. The documents state that Markmiller ignored the order and continued circling the officers and closing the distance.

The reporting officer stated Markmiller got between 10 and 15 feet from another officer when that officer told the man to step back or he’d be taken into custody.

Markmiller was reported to have taken another step toward the officer and struck the officer with his fist.

While attempting to take Markmiller into custody, officers reported that he continued to resist by kicking and pulling away from police.

Markmiller was booked into the Bonneville County Jail and charged with felony battery upon certain personnel and misdemeanor resisting arrest.

Conflicting testimony

Markmiller’s trial began on Jan. 26 and lasted until Jan. 27, during which jurors heard from four IFPD officers and Markmiller, who had agreed to testify, about the events of that night.

While officers testified first at the trial, Markmiller testified about his reason for being at the scene. He said he believed the officers, specifically one officer, Matthew Rosales, had violated the driver’s rights to search her vehicle.

He had claimed that a similar situation had occurred with his family in the past.

When asked by Bonneville County Deputy Prosecutor Patsy Tucker whether any of the officers had ever had any contact with him, he said no. He claimed that he recognized Rosales had done “dirty things” at different stops.

Markmiller’s attorney, Kelly Mallard, asked whether he had introduced himself to the officers during this encounter. He affirmed that he had and that no other conversation had occurred.

Rosales testified that Markmiller was spotted, advised to stay a distance back, and that it was OK for him to record their actions.

“He was getting really close to officers circling, screaming profanities, and being aggressive; therefore, we just advised them to keep a safe distance at that time,” Rosales said.

A portion of Markmiller’s video was played where the man’s voice was heard saying, “f****** blue line gang member, I’m standing on a public sidewalk, go f*** yourself.”

Rosales said the issue wasn’t Markmiller filming officers; rather, he had continued circling and getting closer to officers despite being told to stay back.

Markmiller was asked by Mallard about this and confirmed that he was circling around the officers and had gotten closer to them.

When asked whether officers told him not to get closer, he agreed they did. When asked why he continued to get closer, he said, “I believe that when the state, the government gives us an unlawful order, we as American citizens have a duty to disobey.”

“We have a right to film from a public sidewalk, and if cops are able to order us to not do these things, we and if we just comply with those, we lose those rights,” Markmiller said.

Rosales had testified that Markmiller’s conduct and actions were giving off red flags of a person looking for a fight. His conduct prevented them from focusing on the vehicle search, so they could keep an eye on Markmiller.

The officer who was hit, Jordan Landon, gave Markmiller a final warning. He testified in court that Markmiller took another step towards him, prompting him to try to detain him.

When Markmiller was questioned about this by Mallard, he restated that he believed Landon had given him an unlawful order and “made one small step forward by a few inches.”

It was during the attempt to detain him that Landon claimed Markmiller stepped back into a defensive stance and swung at him with his right hand. Landon said he managed to grab hold of Markmiller’s right arm when this had occurred.

Markmiller claimed Landon grabbed his arm and pulled him closer as he was attempting to catch himself in the fall. He said he doesn’t believe he ever hit Landon.

When on the ground, Markmiller said that the officers got on top of him, tried to suffocate him, and break his neck.

Part of Markmiller’s testimony involved Tucker asking more about the claims of injustices he has had with law enforcement in the past.

Tucker said that in a video that was played during the trial, Markmiller is heard saying that when police do this, making “illegal stops” on law-abiding citizens, it creates enemies for life.

Asking when alleged injustices against him had occurred, Markmiller said there had been numerous incidents and could not specify a single one.

When pressed again, he said that these had occurred in Arizona, and none of those stops had involved the officers in the incident.

Defense attorney’s statements

Mallard spoke with EastIdahoNews.com about the trial and about his former client Markmiller, who has since retained a different attorney.

He said that for each client, he advises them on the potential consequences of going to trial and the risks involved.

For Markmiller, Mallard said his client wanted to go to trial despite the prosecuting attorney’s offer of a plea agreement.

When asked about the deal, it would’ve recommended Markmiller to serve only 30 days in jail and an indeterminate number of years on probation.

“We can never guarantee somebody is going to win at trial, but I can also talk to him about what may happen,” Mallard said. “We watched the video, and I told him my impression that it looked like the video showed him hitting the cop, but the more we looked at it was really inconclusive. That’s kind of when I was willing to support him, because the video really didn’t support the officer’s claim that he hit him.”

Along with Markmiller’s testimony, Mallard said his client fully believed that the DUI investigation was illegal and that Rosales had coerced the driver into complying with the search.

This prompted Markmiller to get close to the film Rosales, as he believed the driver’s Fourth Amendment rights had been violated. However, the stop wasn’t relevant in the trial as the main focus was the assault.

Mallard said the issue is how close a person can get to an officer before it trumps their First Amendment rights

“(Police) never had any trouble with him in any other place. He filmed this particular officer. Officer Landon kind of warned him, gave him a line not to cross in the sand, so to speak, and Markmiller took that step across the line,” Mallard said.

After Markmiller was found guilty, Mallard said he didn’t have a chance to speak with his client because the order to take him into custody had already been issued. He said in the past, unless there is an explicit reason by the prosecutor, an order like that isn’t issued.

Most of the communication with his client stemmed from his family.

“I never felt like he was a bad guy. He was pleasant and respectful with me,” Mallard said. “He just got some firm beliefs about government and his rights, and he expects to exercise his rights.”

Sentencing Scheduled

The jury found Markmiller guilty on both counts, and he is scheduled to be sentenced before District Judge Brendon Taylor at 11 a.m. on March 25.

He faces a potential punishment of six years in prison and or a fine of up to $51,000.