The number of unidentified arrests has continued to rise, with the latest being an Iowa man who was wrestled to the ground and arrested by three men lacking any official uniform or means of identification. A video on Reddit captured clips of the disturbing sight showing a man identified as Jorge Gonzalez being dragged from an exit by a man in a plaid blue shirt and brown khaki trousers.
When Gonzalez resisted, another man, also wearing plain clothes, joined in arresting him. The two men pushed him to the floor in the middle of a store while attempting to cuff his hands. The person recording the entire incident repeatedly demanded the men identify themselves, asking, “Are you ICE or a cop?” to which one of the individuals answered, “federal agents.“
Soon, as the struggle continued, a third man joined and pulled out a taser, shocking Gonzalez. As the agents forced Gonzalez, who was still struggling out of the store, the person recording urged those around to call the police. While the men shoved Gonzalez into a waiting vehicle, the voice behind the camera asked him to say his name.
According to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Gonzalez lived in Iowa City’s Catholic Worker House and worked at the downtown Bread Garden Market, where he was arrested. He immigrated to the United States from Colombia in November 2024 and had regularly checked in with immigration officials.
The clip had netizens expressing their fears, concerns, and even anger at the recent happenings. One user wondered, “If LE doesn’t properly identify themselves, what then happens when someone physically intervenes? Does it really not matter?” This Redditor wrote, “I hope in the future, we citizens get to round up these ice Nazis the same way. In their homes, in their work, dropping their precious kids off at school. I hope they face the same fear they are spreading.”
Skeptical one asked, “So agents, officers, etc, don’t have to identify themselves when trying to detain anyone? That does not seem right. How do we know any of these people have the authority to detain anyone? Could just be some dudes thinking they can now just play as federal agents. At least these guys were not masked.”
One likened the agents to Nazi Germany’s secret police, bluntly declaring, “ICE = Gestapo 2.0!” Another added, “The reckoning for these wannabe brownshirts is going to be glorious. It will happen, just a matter of time.”
With more unruly occurrences like this, it won’t be surprising if this becomes the norm.
