A worrying video of an ICE agent assaulting a civilian has alarmed people all over the nation. The clip that is now going viral shows an agent using physical force to throw a white woman to the ground during a protest. The masked agent who assaulted the woman has gone unidentified and dodged responsibility for his actions.
A crowd gathered outside the ICE’s Durango field office to protest the unjust detention of a father and his two children. The Colorado man and two of his children were forcibly arrested when they were on their way to school.
The community rallied to urge the agency to release the children so they could be reunited with their mother. The protesters were met with ICE agents who used tear gas to counter the gathering. The crowd that has gathered blocked the way for transport vans from going into the facility.
A video from the protest showed how brutal ICE agents were ready to get to for anybody who opposed their actions. In the video, a woman named Franci Stagi is shown recording one of the agents.
In an interview with HuffPost, the 57-year-old said that she asked the agent, “What would Jesus do?” and if the agent was a “good Christian.” The ICE agent replied by forcefully grabbing Stagi’s phone from her hand. She can then be seen trying to retrieve her phone from the masked man.
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The agent responded by aggressively putting the woman in a chokehold and then throwing her to the ground. The woman recalled how she had just brushed the man’s shoulder when she was attempting to grab her phone back.
“People were like, ‘You gotta press charges,’ and I’m like, ‘Against who?’” Stagi questioned. She pointed out that she has no knowledge of who the masked man was. “He wouldn’t give us a name. He wouldn’t talk to us. There’s no recourse,” the 57-year-old added.
The Colorado resident pointed out that the assault is getting attention “simply because I’m an older white lady.” She shed light on the harsh reality about how anybody can claim that they are with ICE and “just come and pick up anyone they want.”
Stagi noted how, in that case, there is no way to prove anything. Social media users were enraged by the ICE agents’ behavior and called for action against the masked individual.
“This is a crime, and Republicans continue to allow it to happen. There is a lack of government transparency and oversight,” one user wrote. “Soooo when are the real cops going to step up and protect their citizens?” another questioned. Several others pointed out how “upsetting” it was to see civilians get assaulted in the middle of the street.
