An Assistant U.S. attorney apologized to a federal judge in Rhode Island after saying he did not disclose that Brian Rafael Gomez was wanted on murder charges in the Dominican Republic before the defendant was released on bond.
U.S. District Court Judge Melissa Dubose ordered Gomez released on Tuesday pending a bond hearing before an immigration judge, then later set a show cause hearing for Monday after saying attorneys must explain why the court was left in the dark. Dubose, who was appointed to the District of Rhode Island by Joe Biden in the final days of his administration, said the respondents should explain why they should not be held in contempt for failing to notify the court of facts relevant to Gomez’s dangerousness and criminal history.
The disclosure dispute came as the government and the court were dealing with a fast-moving case that began in Worcester on April 4, when Gomez was arrested on assault and battery charges. A Department of Homeland Security press release later that day said he faced murder charges in his home country, while DHS said Immigration and Customs Enforcement had apprehended him on a detainer request after he posted $500 bond following his arrest by Worcester police.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Bolan told the court he had been informed by ICE about a pending arrest warrant issued on January 24, 2023, from a court in the Dominican Republic, but said he was not aware ICE had previously disclosed that same information on April 16, 2026. Bolan said he relied on ICE’s representation that he was not permitted to disclose the warrant and apologized personally to Dubose and to the entire court for the consequences of the omission.
That apology did little to soften the judge’s warning. Dubose said failing to provide the court with relevant and material facts threatens public safety and erodes trust in the rule of law, and she tied her contempt order to the new information described in DHS’s April 30, 2026, press release. Acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis called Gomez a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic with an international warrant for homicide and said an activist judge appointed by Biden had released a wanted murderer back into American communities.
The clash puts a spotlight on the same fault line that runs through other deportation fights: who gets to decide what a court knows before it acts, and what happens when federal agencies disagree over disclosure. Gomez had been in ICE custody for most of the month, according to the background provided to the court, and Dubose’s concern centered on whether the missing information about his criminal history should have changed her decision before release.
The next step is now set. Attorneys must appear Monday and explain why the judge was not told what ICE knew about Gomez’s record, while the show cause order leaves open the possibility of contempt proceedings if Dubose is not satisfied with their explanation.
