Documented: Frederick After a 40-Hour ICE Siege - Then Agents Beat Peaceful Protesters

Frederick (KB) - For nearly 40 hours, officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stood in a small residential neighborhood in Frederick, Maryland. Since around 6 a.m. Thursday, they had spread out across the Taskers Chance area, on several streets at the same time, without residents being told what exactly was supposed to happen there. More and more federal agents arrived. A few dozen residents and activists began watching the operation. Many residents barely left their homes. Katie Nash, vice president of the Frederick City Council, describes a quiet neighborhood where federal agents suddenly stood on nearly every street.

Until around 9:30 p.m. Friday, things remained calm. Then the situation changed within minutes. According to City Council President César Díaz, five or six vehicles lined up on Stoneybrook Court and turned on their warning lights. Shortly afterward, federal agents drove their vehicles onto the sidewalk, exactly where observers were standing and chanting. Díaz said people had to move out of the way to avoid being hit. Katie Nash was also nearly struck by a vehicle. Díaz himself said he had to step back to keep from being hit.

Some of the residents then moved into the street, sat down and linked arms, shouting: "We will not be moved." Others went together to the front of the house ICE appeared to be targeting and formed a human barrier there. Nash called the Frederick Police Department because she feared the situation could spiral out of control. One patrol car arrived first, and backup was requested later.

Then federal agents pulled out batons. We were able to document how they struck people who were standing or sitting in front of the house. She acknowledged herself that the protesters were blocking access. But she said they had not been violent. No one had thrown anything at the federal agents. "I understand they can't block the house," she said. "But they weren't violent." We can confirm that based on the footage.

Wir empfehlen, das Video vollständig anzusehen, um das ganze Ausmaß der Zustände in den USA zu erfassen.

The footage from the operation shows Enforcement and Removal Operations officers together with additional personnel in green police vests that are not clearly marked. They rush toward the house, grab people in front of the building and drag them away. In some cases, several officers pile onto individual protesters. Frederick police stand just a few yards away. They neither move against the protesters nor assist the federal agents in their actions. That fits Maryland's narrow legal situation: Local police are not allowed to assist ICE in enforcing immigration law, but they are also not allowed to obstruct federal agents.

"I never thought I would see something like that," César Díaz said later. "It was horrific." A small group of federal agents then opened the door of the house and went inside. In the videos, a person can be seen standing in the doorway. In the end, no one was arrested. Neither Díaz nor Nash could report that anyone had been taken out of the house. Several people were injured, though it was initially unclear how seriously. Shortly after the confrontation, the federal agents left the neighborhood again.

What ICE had wanted there for nearly two days remained just as unclear afterward as it had been before. It was not known whether there was an arrest warrant or a search warrant, nor who the operation was actually targeting. The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not respond to requests for comment. Jennifer Gerlock, a spokesperson for the city of Frederick, said only that local police had come to ensure public safety and calm the situation.

The incident comes at a time when ICE has significantly expanded its operations in Maryland. According to the agency's own figures, it arrested more than 1,300 people in Maryland and Virginia over a two-week period in August. How many of those arrests actually took place in Maryland is not known. What is clear, however, is that the majority of those arrested had no criminal records.

What remains is an operation in which a residential neighborhood was kept under surveillance for nearly 40 hours, people were injured, residents barely left their homes, federal agents drove vehicles onto sidewalks, protesters were pushed back with batons, and in the end no one was arrested.

Katie Nash later asked the question hanging over everything: "Why all the theatrics?" To this day, no one has given an answer.