Two people hospitalized, witnesses say
Maryland political leaders are calling for investigations into the conduct of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers after a two-day federal operation in Frederick drew an estimated 200 protesters and ended in clashes captured on bystander video.
Residents of the city, about 50 miles northwest of Baltimore, remained shaken more than a week after ICE officers arrived in numerous vehicles and could be seen on video footage using batons on members of the public and driving cars onto the sidewalk toward people.
The confrontations took place on Thursday and Friday before the Labor Day weekend. According to a statement ICE provided to local media and reported by the Frederick News-Post, the agency’s officers were initially in the area “in an effort to arrest a man” during a vehicle stop last Thursday morning. The man fled the scene, the Frederick News-Post reported; after that, more ICE officers arrived and tensions escalated.
At one point, protesters sat down in a line across the road linking arms and tried to block the doorway to a residential address as ICE personnel approached. Officers entered the home but left without appearing to have made any arrests. Videos shared by the Hagerstown Rapid Response activist group also showed officers approaching a home, with protesters creating a human chain to keep them from reaching the building.
Bystander footage shows officers in tactical vests raising batons and hitting at least one protester about their body, while others were dragged and shoved. Other videos show federal vehicles driving onto the pavement toward protesters; protesters can be heard chanting “Go home,” “Leave Frederick” and “Leave Maryland” at the gathered personnel.
Cesar Diaz, the president of the Frederick city council, told the Guardian he rushed to the scene after hearing news of a confrontation. He said he had to step out of the way to avoid being hit by an ICE vehicle and saw council vice-president Katie Nash have to do the same. “I had to move so I wouldn’t get hit, and the vice-president did too. There was no warning at all. The vehicle was one foot away from her,” Diaz said. “We were there to show people that they had our support, and so the officers would see it too.” Diaz estimated around 200 protesters gathered quickly, carrying signs and singing.
He said four or five ICE vehicles were in the area initially, a number that grew to eight or nine by Thursday evening. Other witnesses reported that some residents were afraid to leave their homes and go to work; some required help to ensure children getting off the school bus Thursday afternoon would be safe walking home.
Diaz said at least two people had to go to the hospital due to injuries. “The level of violence went beyond what the situation called for. It was too much. It exceeded what is permitted,” he said. “There are many other options when dealing with unarmed people.” He called for an investigation, as did Rep. April McClain Delaney, whose district includes the city.
“No family should be afraid to leave their home or feel unsafe in their own neighborhood,” Delaney said in a statement. “I am especially disturbed by reports that ICE agents used force against Frederick residents. These allegations demand immediate answers and a full, transparent investigation.”
Frederick Police Chief Kevin Meyer said his officers asked ICE whether they had an arrest warrant, but federal officers refused to discuss it. Frederick authorities said they were not aware of any ICE or local arrests; police personnel were dispatched in an effort to de-escalate the situation.
Soolah Kemp, a member of Hagerstown Rapid Response, said she was recording video when an ICE vehicle drove in her direction. “I heard the siren, I turned, and he was coming at me. He sped up, so I jumped out of the way. He had enough room on the street to not have an issue. He didn’t have to do what he did,” she said. Kemp said she filed a report of the incident with the state attorney general’s office.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen demanded an immediate investigation and said “Trump’s ICE operations are not about making our country safer, they are about creating chaos and instilling fear in our communities.” Tatiana Santos, of the activist network Indivisible Frederick Forward, called the ICE conduct she witnessed “unconscionable” and said protesters had been “so peaceful in the defense of their immigrant neighbors.”
Santos has asked Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to speak out and called for him to conduct an investigation. Moore’s office said in a statement that the governor was working with local leaders “to address what happened and make sure that there is real accountability.”
The Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, did not respond to a request for comment from the Guardian. In an earlier statement to local network WBAL-TV, the agency declined to comment “for operation security” and “the safety” of their personnel. DHS told the outlet that “criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the US.”
Lex McMenamin contributed reporting.