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A 21-year-old anti-ICE protester was permanently blinded in one eye after being shot at close range with non-lethal ammunition by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent in Santa Ana, California, his family said.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Jeri Rees, the protester's aunt, said her nephew's encounter with DHS left him with plastic, glass, and metal in his eyes and face, as well as metal just 7 millimeters from his carotid artery, which doctors didn't remove for fear of fatal complications. The protestor also sustained a fractured skull and underwent six hours of surgery.
“For the next six weeks, he can’t sneeze or cough because it could do a lot of damage,” Rees said.
The incident unfolded on Friday (January 9) outside the Santa Ana federal building during a demonstration organized by local activist groups, including Dare to Struggle. Video shows agents approaching protesters as one individual carrying a bullhorn is struck in the face, falls to his knees, and is later dragged into the building. Another clip appears to show the bloodied protester lying on the ground inside the building, while agents fired pepper balls at someone attempting to record the scene.
The protester, who is transitioning and uses he/him pronouns, told his family that officers also pressed his face into a pool of blood while mocking him.
DHS described the event as a “highly coordinated campaign of violence,” saying a mob of about 60 rioters threw rocks, bottles, and fireworks at law enforcement, injuring two officers. Two individuals were arrested, one of whom was hospitalized for a minor cut.
Connor Atwood, a member of Dare to Struggle, said the group did not attempt to enter the federal building.
The Santa Ana protest came days after Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Good’s death has sparked national outrage over the use of force by ICE.
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