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Protesters trap federal agents during raid
In a bold move that unfolded in Tucson, Arizona, a group of activists took to the streets outside a local Mexican restaurant, creating a stir early on Friday morning. Their actions briefly detained federal agents in a parking lot, as the agents were occupied with executing a search warrant related to an extensive investigation into tax and immigration fraud.
The scene, set at the Taco Giro restaurant on North Grande Avenue, turned dramatic when protesters allegedly employed a bike lock to secure the gated parking lot, effectively trapping the agents inside. The situation escalated to a point where a SWAT team had to be dispatched to the location.
According to an ICE spokesperson, the operation was part of a broader investigation involving ICE Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, and other federal partners. “Special agents and officers are executing 16 search warrants across southern Arizona connected to longstanding inquiries into immigration and tax violations,” the spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital, adding that “multiple individuals are in custody.”
The protesters, standing defiantly behind the locked gate, symbolized the tension and complexity surrounding immigration and tax enforcement actions. As agents conducted their raid at Taco Giro, believed to be implicated in immigration and tax evasion activities, the activists made their presence and opposition unmistakably clear.
Protesters stand behind a gate they allegedly locked using a bike lock which they used to block federal agents leaving the location where they had just conducted a raid on a restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. Agents were outside the business, Taco Giro, as part of an investigation on suspicion of immigration and tax evasion. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
More information is expected to be released soon, he added.
Authorities arrived at the restaurant around 9 a.m. It wasn’t open yet. Between 100 and 200 protesters began gathering outside an hour later, chanting “Go home ICE” and other slogans, some including profanity.
A close-up of a bike lock which was being used by protesters to lock a gate where federal agents had conducted a raid on a restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. Agents were outside the business, Taco Giro, as part of an investigation on suspicion of immigration and tax evasion. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Many of them were carrying identical signs, reading, “illegal arrests require a hood.” One protester was seen shoving a finger in an agent’s face, standing behind a steel barricade.
Law enforcement officers deal with protesters after federal agents conduct a raid on a restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. The business, Taco Giro, is being investigated on suspicion of immigration and tax evasion. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Among them was a more confrontational group of about a dozen. Shortly after 11, someone threw a bottle at an ICE vehicle.
Another placed a bike lock around the gate, locking the agents inside.
Law enforcement officers deal with protesters after federal agents conducted a raid on a restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Authorities deployed flash bangs and pepper spray and arrested at least two people in the mob in front of a photographer.
After authorities cut the lock off with a saw, video shows smoke in the air as they filed out of the parking lot in law enforcement vehicles. Protesters were heard jeering as they left.
A general view of Taco Giro on Grand Avenue, Tucson, Arizona, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. The business is being investigated on suspicion of immigration and tax evasion. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Earlier, the agents were also seen entering a house around the corner, just steps away.
Photos taken there show multiple men in handcuffs, being loaded into the back of an SUV.
ICE said the raids were part of a sprawling investigation into immigration and tax fraud.
