A startling video appears to show a masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer pressing a firearm toward the face of an unarmed bystander during a tense arrest operation in California.
The confrontation unfolded shortly before 8:30 a.m. Friday in North Hollywood, after federal agents pulled a man from a sidewalk and took him into custody, witness Damari Butler told the Los Angeles Times.
Butler, who filmed the confrontation, said he was sitting on his balcony when he saw two masked agents suddenly tackle a man without warning.
“There was no asking his name, no ID, nothing. They just grabbed him,” Butler recalled.
The confrontation came as President Trump’s administration continued its immigration crackdown—a policy the Republican Party has emphasized ahead of this week’s midterm elections, where polling indicates the party could suffer heavy losses.
The footage opens with two ICE agents detaining a man while another person walks nearby with two dogs.
Seconds later, a third agent approached the dog walker and ordered him to move back. Butler said the man had picked up a can of pepper spray and appeared to be moving it out of the way.
The masked agent then pushed the bystander into a bush and aimed a gun at his face, according to the video, as his dogs barked.
The man was released moments later and shouted: “What the f** is wrong with you?”
A masked ICE officer appeared to point a gun at an unarmed bystander’s face Friday morning as the man walked two dogs
The three agents remained in the street while the man they had detained continued to scream.
As the agents lifted the handcuffed man by his arms and legs and attempted to place him inside an SUV, people nearby could be heard asking whether anyone had captured the incident on camera.
The dog walker repeatedly asked whether someone had noted the vehicle’s license plate. A second SUV then arrived at the scene.
“They’re hurting him! They’re hurting him!” the bystander yelled.
One masked agent appeared to pursue the bystander again as he fled, shouting.
The camera then turned back toward the three agents, who appeared to struggle while trying to force the handcuffed man into the vehicle.
The detainee continued screaming as one officer appeared to draw a Taser.
The confrontation began when federal agents arrested an unidentified man who screamed as they tried to place him in a vehicle. He was the only person detained in the incident
The ICE confrontation occurred as polls indicated President Trump was on track for a major midterm defeat, despite his administration’s claimed success in reducing illegal immigration
The video ends with four officers gathered around the man while terrified onlookers can be heard screaming.
The identity of the man who was detained has not been revealed, nor has the reason for his arrest.
He was the only one detained during the incident.
The Daily Mail contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
A majority of Americans support immigration reform, after the number of people crossing the southern border illegally swelled to record numbers during President Joe Biden’s single term in office.
Trump’s hard crackdown saw immigration numbers tumble – although some of the tactics used by ICE and DHS agents were met with criticism from the left and right.
Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exited her role in disgrace after two anti-ICE protesters, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, were shot dead on the streets of Minneapolis.
Earlier this week, the federal government was forced to deny that ICE and DHS agents would serve polling station monitors at Tuesday’s midterms, although it is illegal for non-citizens to vote anyway.
Still, Republicans are keen to emphasize their immigration wins ahead of the midterms.
Polls show the party on track to lose the House of Representatives and possibly even the Senate.
President Trump’s hugely unpopular war in Iran and associated surges in the cost of living have put many Americans who voted MAGA in 2024 from picking him again, if polls are to be believed.
Historically red states like Texas and Kansas could even turn blue, although top Republicans including Trump himself say those polls cannot be trusted.