Man arrested for posing as ICE agent to intimidate voters at polling station
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A man was arrested Sunday after allegedly impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and intimidating voters at a Florida polling site.
Danilo Alves Silva, 46, wore an “ICE raid jacket,” an ICE hat, tactical boots, sunglasses and a face mask as he walked around polling locations at Miami Dade College’s Kendall Campus, ABC News reported, citing an arrest report.
The polling locations were not set up for U.S. elections but rather served Brazilian nationals voting in their country’s presidential election. The greater Miami area is home to a sizable Brazilian community.
“The people were gathered and were clearly in fear that, as they portrayed it, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE agent was interfering with their election, possibly deporting individuals,” the report said.
Detectives from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Homeland Security Bureau intervened and detained Silva after he allegedly responded aggressively to several people who confronted him, according to CBS News.
Silva admitted to detectives that he was not an ICE agent, describing his outfit as a “prop costume” and claiming he had purchased it on Amazon. He maintained that he had not broken any laws.
He told detectives he had arrived at the polling site wearing a jersey to cast his ballot, then changed into the costume in his car and returned to see how people would react.
While in a police vehicle, Silva also allegedly told detectives: “I will get you paid if you let me go,” and “We will pay you money,” according to the report.
Silva was charged Monday with prohibited intimidation or suppression of voters, unlawful use of a police badge or insignia, conspiracy to commit bribery and threatening a public servant to influence their performance.
“Halloween will be the 31st,” a judge told Silva at a subsequent hearing, according to NBC 6 footage. “It’s not now, and it’s not during their Brazilian elections.”
The Independent contacted the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and ICE for comment.
The arrest comes about one month before the U.S. midterm elections.
President Donald Trump previously refused to rule out sending ICE agents or National Guard troops to voting locations during the midterms.
“I do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections,” he told reporters in May.
