A disturbing video out of Encinitas, California, is fueling fresh anger over ICE tactics after a man was detained, cuffed, and violently dragged into a waiting vehicle by masked agents in broad daylight.
The footage, originally shared by the Instagram page @encinitas4all and later reposted to Reddit, shows several ICE agents hauling the man across the pavement as he yelps in pain. Onlookers can be heard shouting at officers to stop hurting him, with one woman yelling, โHeโs not even resisting!โ
Instead of a calm, lawful arrest, the scene looks chaotic and brutal. At one point, the agents lose their grip and appear to nearly drop the man before continuing to drag him toward their car. The lack of any visible warrant or clear explanation has sparked accusations that ICE is once again resorting to โkidnappingโ tactics.
The Reddit comment section quickly became a sounding board for outrage. One user, u/MoreCloud6435, called out the agentsโ clumsy handling of the situation:
โItโs the way they canโt even manage to cuff him, then they dropped him, fell on him, canโt control a crowd (of like 4 people). Who is even training these assholes?โ
Another, u/blkcatplnet, didnโt mince words, labeling them โmasked cowards.โ Others compared ICEโs actions to fascist tactics, with u/bkelln writing:
โThey are pardoning criminals too like the insurrectionists and filling up their Gestapo with people who owe this administration their freedom.โ
Beyond the outrage, some Redditors raised legal red flags. A detailed comment pointed out that the apparent โhog-tieโ style restraint used in the video is explicitly banned under California Penal Code ยง 835a(e)(2) due to the risk of positional asphyxia, a restraint technique linked to multiple high-profile deaths, including George Floyd.
Even among those who didnโt explicitly call for protests, frustration ran deep. User u/sendmorepubsubs summed up the sentiment bluntly:
โDangerous. Criminals. Thatโs what they said. Turns out real criminals are dangerous to go after and these agents are nothing if not cowards โ just look at the masks.โ
The incident is yet another reminder of the precarious situation for immigrants and minorities living under constant ICE surveillance in the U.S. Communities like Encinitas, which has seen its share of grassroots anti-ICE protests, now face the prospect of federal agents brazenly seizing people in public without transparency or accountability.
Calls for mass protests and even civil disobedience filled the thread, reflecting a growing sense that watching and filming is no longer enough. As one user put it:
โWhy do we still watch and record while they choke the life out of us? No more empty screams, no more hollow posts.โ
The video goes some way to highlighting the raw fear and anger coursing through communities that feel ICEโs presence has crossed from enforcement into open intimidation. And judging by the fury online, the publicโs patience is wearing dangerously thin.
