Video Shows ICE Agents Letting Man Go After Neighbors Interrupt Raid

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were forced to abort an operation Wednesday after being surrounded by a mob, according to video obtained by a local news station.

ICE agents carried out three raids during the operation in Downey, California, but one arrest was halted after people started filming the agents, according to ABC7.com. Members of the mob shouted at the agents, while also telling the man not to sign anything, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Maxine Waters Blames Trump For LA Violence She Previously Claimed Wasn’t Even Happening)

LOS ANGELES: Group is still pretty big since they started walking around 4pm out here. Almost an hour till curfew now @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/ahM9oQqstt

— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) June 11, 2025

“It looked like a full-on kidnapping scene out of a movie, it was scary,” Melyssa Rivas, one of those who took video of the ICE agents, told ABC7.com. “My dad has papers, he has his citizenship but he looks just like that man. He’s a full citizen. They stereotyped that man.”

President Donald Trump ordered 700 Marines to back up the deployment of federalized National Guard troops Monday as the riots continued into their fifth day following a Friday raid by ICE.

One local leader echoed demands from some Democrats that ICE cease its operations in the Los Angeles area, claiming it was affecting the economy.

“I think this places my community in fear. Instead of providing public safety, we’re creating chaos and fear which will definitely impact the economy of my city,” Downey City Councilman Mario Trujillo, who has ties to former Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, told ABC7.com. “Random gardeners in front of homes and businesses here in Downey were detained and abducted. At this point there’s just fear in our community.”

🧵Here is how well-funded activists and a coordinated social media campaign helped spark the pro-illegal migrant protests on Friday that descended into days of rioting in Los Angeles… pic.twitter.com/JNQenvwqn3

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 10, 2025

Video posted to social media Saturday showed an individual, who the FBI identified as Elpido Reyna in a Monday night post on X, throwing rocks at the windshields of vehicles containing federal law enforcement personnel with the FBI offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

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