There has been a substantial increase in the number of stories and videos featuring masked federal agents violently detaining people in public. The latest victim of this behavior is the manager of the popular Chicago, Illinois, comedy club, Laugh Factory. He was detained shortly after those same agents had violently detained a different man in Lakeview, Illinois.
The above video shows comedy club manager Nathan Griffin being violently detained by masked agents wearing camouflage uniforms. The vehicle Giffin was witnessed being put into was unmarked, though the agents themselves were wearing badges across their backs that read ‘Police.’
According to a witness, Griffin allegedly forcibly closed an unmarked Border Patrol vehicle’s door, causing pain to the agent sitting inside. The agent explained that as he was stepping out of the car, his leg was already outside the door frame, which caused it to be pinned to the vehicle when Griffin closed it.
What is worse is that Griffin’s mother, Elain Plybon, was also present, and witness Hannah Safter was quoted saying, “His mom put her body in between them, and one of the agents kicked her in the face. It was sick.” The comments immediately flooded with TikTok users condemning the agents for their behavior, with one person bluntly saying, “ICE is a criminal gang.”
Other comments focused on the fact that the agents were masked, with the top comment under the video saying, “Start pulling their masks down.” This practice of wearing federal and Border Patrol agents wearing masks to conceal their identities has been much more popular as of late.
As a result of this detainment, Griffin’s mother set up a fundraiser aimed at helping him with his legal defense and other associated costs. As of right now, there has been $4,830 raised by various donors. Plybon also released a video on her very own Instagram profile, detailing the events from her perspective as well as detailing more about the fundraiser.
The comments under her video were less kind, with many of the top comments saying, “Your son is being accused of shutting a car door on an ICE agent’s leg. That is why he was arrested. But in the video you were screaming hysterically while claiming he didn’t do anything.” In fact, most of the comments are something akin to this.
Laugh Factory themselves haven’t commented on the situation and on their Chicago location’s website, there are still shows available to attend throughout the rest of this month and next.
