We don’t need no stinking probable cause
Is a masked “officer” bumping an observer and accusing said observer of assaulting a federal officer the ICE equivalent of using a “drop gun” or a “throw-down gun” to frame a suspect? Asking for the current and future accused.
TNR:
Grandmother Barbara Stone says she was documenting the detention of asylum-seekers with the group “Detention Resistance” at San Diego’s immigration court when she was baselessly accused of pushing an officer. Multiple masked agents then pursued Stone, grabbed and handcuffed her (leaving bruises), confiscated her phone and purse, and detained her for over eight hours, she says.
Once Stone was released, ICE returned her bag but kept possession of her phone. Why? Stone says an ICE agent compared the situation to “a drug bust where they keep a drug dealer’s phone because I had used it in the crime.”
But the only “crime” of which Stone says she’s guilty is documenting immigration enforcement. If this is true, the episode would track with other apparent attempts by ICE agents to avoid accountability of late, for instance, by wearing masks so they can conduct raids and arrests anonymously.
Maybe observers should carry a throw-down ham sandwich to these ICE raids. Blame the sandwich for any inadvertent contact.
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