Chaotic Monday At The John Moss Building

It was a chaotic Monday afternoon, February 2nd, at the ICE Field Office’s 7th Street Gate at Sacramento’s John Moss Building. (I arrived much later, so missed the excitement). 

ICE officers, likely heading home at 3:45 p.m., refused to remove masks (it’s now illegal for officers to wear masks in California) and refused to identify themselves to protesters. The ICE officers relied heavily on support from unmasked DHS officers (basically, their more-experienced babysitters). One protester was tased, bear-maced, and hauled inside. Another protester (praying on the sidewalk) was dragged inside. She was also bear-maced. A third protester escaped. Both of the detained protesters were released. 

It seems to me that ICE is trying to jam open a loophole in SB 627 here and that the confrontation was carefully orchestrated. The ICE officers present were at the end of their shift and presumably heading home. Even though they were still on John Moss grounds they would say they were off duty, and free to wear any masks they pleased. This would explain why the DHS officers weren’t wearing masks and why the protesters weren’t held for long, since there are penalties for false arrest. Meanwhile, the protesters were trying to enforce the law within their limited means. 

This video is sped up.

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