Dragged from Her Car at Gunpoint – The Story of Dayanne Figueroa – “I Thought I Was Going to Die”

Chicago – The morning began harmlessly. Dayanne Figueroa only wanted to grab a coffee before heading to work. Then she drove into a scene that looked more like a war zone than a residential street in West Town: people shouting and honking – the now-familiar signal that ICE is in the neighborhood. Seconds later, a gray SUV driven by federal agents crashed into Figueroa’s car. It was no accident, no misunderstanding, but part of an operation that had spiraled completely out of control. Heavily armed men, weapons drawn, masked federal agents, unmarked vehicles.

The images show agents exiting their vehicle after the collision, weapons raised, aiming at Figueroa without identifying themselves or offering any explanation. They rip open her door, drag her by her legs out of the car as bystanders shout: “You hit her! We have it on video!” The agents ignore the crowd, shove the woman into a red minivan, and drive off. Her car remains in the middle of the street – engine running, keys in the ignition, her coffee still in the holder.

Later, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that Figueroa was “at fault,” that she had “crashed into a government vehicle” and “violently resisted arrest.” Two officers were said to be injured. The claims were not only absurd – they were outright lies. Figueroa has since been released without charges.

Her case stands as a stark example of what has become routine in Trump’s second term: aggressive, opaque operations in which civil rights are secondary and violence is no longer the last resort but the first. In Chicago, reports are piling up of excessive force during arrests, tear gas used in residential areas, and arbitrary detentions of people filming or simply standing nearby. Figueroa, a U.S. citizen, was taken to multiple undisclosed locations and denied contact with both her family and legal counsel.

“I was in shock and terrified,” she said. “The video proves they crashed into me. I wasn’t involved in any protests. I want justice.”

It is not an isolated incident. Just one day before her arrest, a federal court dismissed charges against a mentally disabled man from Oak Park who had allegedly “attacked” officers during a protest – without evidence. A grand jury refused to indict a couple arrested at a demonstration in Broadview. A WGN producer was violently detained in Lincoln Square and held for seven hours – without any legal basis. The cases are multiplying; people are fighting back, fighting for justice.

Meanwhile, DHS is facing scrutiny in court over its operations. Several judges are reviewing whether the agency violated prior orders restricting the use of force against civilians and members of the press. Figueroa’s story is more than a tragic incident – it is a symptom of state power gone off the rails. A woman on her way to work was treated like a terrorist. Her crime: being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The images show not an exception, but a system. A system that has long since learned that fear is the most effective form of control.

And that is precisely why we must resist — intelligently, deliberately, and with a clear mind. Peacefully, yet unshakably. Investigate, expose, litigate, free the detained: that is our path. Every arrest, every release is a chapter in this story – one that will one day catch up with those who now command the injustice. What matters is endurance: persistence, courage, and the will not to be intimidated, no matter what threats come. Only those who face this fight – with reason, legal precision, and social solidarity – can help restore faith in justice and human dignity.