A disturbing video out of Encinitas, California, is fueling fresh anger over ICE tactics after a man was detained, cuffed, and violently dragged into a waiting vehicle by masked agents in broad daylight.
The footage, originally shared by the Instagram page @encinitas4all and later reposted to Reddit, shows several ICE agents hauling the man across the pavement as he yelps in pain. Onlookers can be heard shouting at officers to stop hurting him, with one woman yelling, “He’s not even resisting!”
Instead of a calm, lawful arrest, the scene looks chaotic and brutal. At one point, the agents lose their grip and appear to nearly drop the man before continuing to drag him toward their car. The lack of any visible warrant or clear explanation has sparked accusations that ICE is once again resorting to “kidnapping” tactics.
The Reddit comment section quickly became a sounding board for outrage. One user, u/MoreCloud6435, called out the agents’ clumsy handling of the situation:
“It’s the way they can’t even manage to cuff him, then they dropped him, fell on him, can’t control a crowd (of like 4 people). Who is even training these assholes?”
Another, u/blkcatplnet, didn’t mince words, labeling them “masked cowards.” Others compared ICE’s actions to fascist tactics, with u/bkelln writing:
“They are pardoning criminals too like the insurrectionists and filling up their Gestapo with people who owe this administration their freedom.”
Beyond the outrage, some Redditors raised legal red flags. A detailed comment pointed out that the apparent “hog-tie” style restraint used in the video is explicitly banned under California Penal Code § 835a(e)(2) due to the risk of positional asphyxia, a restraint technique linked to multiple high-profile deaths, including George Floyd.
Even among those who didn’t explicitly call for protests, frustration ran deep. User u/sendmorepubsubs summed up the sentiment bluntly:
“Dangerous. Criminals. That’s what they said. Turns out real criminals are dangerous to go after and these agents are nothing if not cowards — just look at the masks.”
The incident is yet another reminder of the precarious situation for immigrants and minorities living under constant ICE surveillance in the U.S. Communities like Encinitas, which has seen its share of grassroots anti-ICE protests, now face the prospect of federal agents brazenly seizing people in public without transparency or accountability.
Calls for mass protests and even civil disobedience filled the thread, reflecting a growing sense that watching and filming is no longer enough. As one user put it:
“Why do we still watch and record while they choke the life out of us? No more empty screams, no more hollow posts.”
The video goes some way to highlighting the raw fear and anger coursing through communities that feel ICE’s presence has crossed from enforcement into open intimidation. And judging by the fury online, the public’s patience is wearing dangerously thin.
