The joyful and peaceful day at the Family Rodeo in Idaho was unexpectedly ruined when a group of armed officers arrived. Were there any criminals around? No, it was a group of ICE agents accompanied by FBI officers. The DHS claimed they were there to address alleged illegal horse racing and gambling taking place at the event. However, in the process, they also arrested 105 people whom they claimed were undocumented immigrants.
As if that weren’t enough, these ICE agents thought it appropriate to tie up young children as though they were dangerous criminals. The disturbing incident was captured on video and shared widely on Reddit. In the footage, several adults can be heard shouting, demanding to see the warrant that justified ICE’s presence and mass arrests. Another voice questioned why the agents were fully equipped with riot gear and firearms, acting as if they were preparing for a violent confrontation when the crowd consisted only of peaceful Idaho families posing no threat to anyone.
Some attendees protested being treated like criminals, insisting they had done nothing wrong. An angry Idaho father demanded to know why the agents were detaining children, while a distraught mother shouted, asking where her kids were. Despite these pleas, the ICE agents and accompanying officers remained cold and unresponsive, repeatedly ordering everyone to “back up.” Eventually, they began tackling several people, treating them roughly as if they were dangerous offenders, even though they were only desperate parents asking for their children, who had effectively been taken away.
The incident sparked outrage across the internet. Many users condemned the scene, calling it another example of ICE and the Trump administration acting like the Gestapo.
“This is becoming so extreme, it justifies an investigation and arrests once we have a new administration. There’s no way our country can simply ignore this and move forward,” one user commented.
Others questioned how DHS could so blatantly lie by claiming these were undocumented immigrants when the agents failed to present any warrants or proof, appearing instead to kidnap innocent people to meet their quotas. “Isn’t this a largely Indigenous American attended event?!” one Redditor asked.
Many criticized ICE for targeting civilians instead of pursuing actual criminals. One furious commenter wrote, “It’s disgusting to think that married members of ICE have someone who sleeps next to them after they do this all day, someone that supports them. The number of hateful, privileged people in America who willingly do this kind of work to other Americans are violent, disgusting Neanderthals who laugh at others’ suffering. They are the real criminals of the world.”
