Compton, California

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has filed charges against a protester for allegedly attempting to wreck a train at the scene of a demonstration against the sheriff’s department — a case where the defendant’s attorneys have accused officials of gross exaggeration in retaliation for protest activity.

Emanuel Padilla, a 34-year-old toy designer who lives in Hawthorne, was charged Monday with one felony count of a train wrecking attempt, which carries a maximum sentence of life without parole, and one felony count of unlawful obstruction of a railroad track, which carries a two- to four-year sentence.