ICE protesters arrested in violent clash after officers were ‘tailgated’ and attacked by man who ‘grabbed agent’s genitals’
Chaos unfolded in a quaint Illinois city after a driver rear-ended a Border Patrol vehicle, sparking the arrest of a man who allegedly grabbed an agent’s genitals, according to officials.
A red sedan rammed into a federal vehicle on Friday afternoon in Evanston, about 50 minutes outside of Chicago, after the driver ‘aggressively tailgated’ officials, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told the Daily Mail.
ICE agents were in the area after they arrested five immigrants from Mexico for criminal trespass and ‘multiple illegal entries into the country,’ DHS said.
But while they were in town, a car slammed into the back of the ICE vehicle, leading to a violent clash between agents and protestors and the arrests of three American citizens.
An unnamed man who allegedly assaulted a Border Patrol agent also ‘grabbed the agent’s genitals and squeezed them’ per the spokesperson.
‘As you know this is an extremely painful experience for most human beings and justifies certain responses, the agent delivered several defensive strikes to the agitator to free his genitals from the agitator’s vice,’ the department added.
Several videos circulating on social media showed intense scenes from the car crash after a man and woman in the red vehicle decided to follow the federal vehicle in a bid to warn the community of their presence, witnesses told WLS.
Bystanders said the agents then slammed on their brakes and caused the sedan to collide into the vehicle which appeared to have a detainee already inside.
A man is seen being pushed into the street by an ICE agent during Friday afternoon’s chaotic scene in Evanston, Illinois
The agents then ran out and pulled a driver and passenger out as members of the neighborhood watch patrol descended on the scene.
Jos Marin, a member of the patrol, saw first hand what happened just blocks away from a local elementary school.
Marin told Evanston Now he saw agents throw the female driver of the car which allegedly caused the crash onto the concrete.
Another person told the outlet they saw agents ‘digging his face into the ground’, referring to her male passenger.
In a clip recorded by Marin, an officer was seen on top of the female driver, while another slammed the passenger down onto the street.
Meanwhile, another officer, who covered his face with a mask, yelled out to the growing crowd to back up.
The male passenger in the red sedan was then pushed to the ground by an agent’s knee as he screamed for help.
The agent then grabbed the man’s hand with his face before toppling back onto the ground with another officer.
A female, who was driving the red car, is seen being held on the ground as one of her shoes came off her foot
While the scene unfolded, an unidentified woman appeared to try and help a detainee get out of the federal vehicle before an ICE agent stopped her
A third agent, dressed in a dark long-sleeved shirt, black sunglasses and red beard, then grabbed pepper spray from his car and pointed it at protestors, screaming: ‘Get back!’
Officers then spotted a woman recording the scene close to the federal vehicle.
After noticing her, an agent ran over as his colleagues continued to wrestle people to the ground.
Another angle of the incident appeared to show the woman try and help a detainee escape from the official’s vehicle before being violently pushed out of the way by an agent.
He then grabbed control of the person in the car and pointed a gun in the same direction the woman was pushed in.
When approached by the Daily Mail for comment on the woman’s apparent involvement, DHS said they had no information on it.
It remains unclear what the three U.S. citizens were arrested for and locals have no idea where they were taken, Chute Middle School social worker Allie Harned told WGN.
The officer pushed the woman away from a person who had their hands behind their back as other agents dealt with protestors on the other side of the vehicle
An ICE officer is seen pointing a gun at the woman he pushed away from the car
‘When I came up on her, they were tearing her out of the car. She was on the ground, her shoes fell off,’ Harned recalled.
‘They started attacking people observing, and I saw them wrestle two people to the ground. Those three people were taken away, and we have no idea where they are.
‘We are trying to figure out who they are so we can tell their loved ones and try to help them. There are people willing to be advocates for them.’
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss spoke out following the incident he called an ‘outrage.’
‘ICE agents have assaulted Evanston residents, beaten people up, grabbed them, abducted them, taken people off the street once again because of the color of their skin,’ Bliss said.
‘It is an outrage. Our message for ICE is simple: Get the hell out of Evanston.’
DHS officials expressed their concern over the violence that they say is targeted at ICE agents.
It remains unclear what the three U.S. citizens were arrested for and locals have no idea where they were taken
‘This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of violence and obstruction,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Over the past several days, we’ve seen an increase in assaults and deliberate vehicle rammings targeting federal law enforcement during operations.
‘These confrontations highlight the dangers our agents face daily and the escalating aggression toward law enforcement. The violence must end.’
