Parsing ICE's mixed-up, hard-to-believe assault claims
Last month, I wrote a column questioning why Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were increasingly disguising their identities as they conducted sweeps and arrests. One obvious answer was that they hoped to avoid accountability for their actions, making it harder to say precisely who had plucked up a college student or local mother and sent them to jail in another state pending deportation.
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Associated Press
25 minutes ago
- Associated Press
New York police search for a suspect and a motive after 11 police vehicles are torched
NEW YORK (AP) — A man suspected of torching 11 New York City police vehicles in Brooklyn last week — the first of two such arson attacks in the last week — was previously arrested at pro-Palestinian protests and is wanted for damaging a statue at Columbia University last fall, police said. The NYPD on Wednesday released photos and a video of the suspect, a 21-year-old man from New Jersey, and asked the public for help finding him. He remained at large as of Thursday. Police are also investigating whether he is also responsible for attempting to set fire Wednesday to a police van in another part of Brooklyn. In the first attack, police said, a man climbed over a gate around 1 a.m. on June 12 and placed fire starters on the windshields, hoods and tires of multiple vehicles in a police parking lot about a block from a police station in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood. The man then fled on foot, police said, citing surveillance video they said placed the 21-year-old suspect at the crime scene. None of the vehicles were occupied and no injuries were reported. On Wednesday, police said, a fire starter was found on a police van parked outside a diner in Brooklyn's Williamsburg section. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the device was similar but not the same brand as the ones used in Bushwick. After last week's fire, Mayor Eric Adams suggested that the suspect was connected to protests in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere over the Trump administration's immigration enforcement agenda. Police, however, have not made that connection. The suspect has two pending criminal cases in the city, according to court records. On May 28, he was arrested in Manhattan and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest for allegedly obstructing traffic and refusing to move. In May 2024, he was arrested in Queens and charged with assault and resisting arrest. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases. He has yet to be charged in the arson attack or the Columbia University vandalism last September. There, Kenny said, he disguised himself as a student and caused over $1,000 of damage to a campus statue.
Newsweek
29 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Hundreds of Anti-ICE Protesters Storm Facility
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said that 250 anti-ICE activists stormed an ICE field office in Portland after protesters squared off against federal agents. "Last night, Portland rioters violently targeted federal law enforcement—250 rioters launched fireworks, shined lasers in officers' eyes to temporarily blind them, and stormed an ICE field office," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detain a man outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs building during a protest Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Portland, Ore. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detain a man outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs building during a protest Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Portland, Ore. Jenny Kane/AP Photo Why It Matters Protesters have maintained a steady presence outside the ICE facility since last week. More than 20 arrests have been made, local media reports. There has been growing opposition to President Donald Trump's mass deportation policies. What To Know DHS said that five people were arrested on multiple charges, including assault on a federal law officer. "We won't sit idly by and watch these cowards," McLaughlin said. According to KOIN, some individuals were seen setting off fireworks and pushing what appeared to be a dumpster toward the facility, prompting federal agents to respond with flashbang devices. This happened yesterday in Portland. Violent mob of 250 rioters attacked federal law enforcement—launching fireworks, aiming lasers into officers' eyes to blind them, and storming an ICE field office. This wasn't a protest. It was an orchestrated assault on federal agents—and… — I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) June 19, 2025 Footage shared on social media showed armed agents at the scene, while police officers in gas masks escorted people away as canisters lay scattered on the ground. Eduardo Diaz, 22, was taken into custody around 11:14 p.m. after officers identified him as the individual suspected of pointing a laser at federal officers earlier in the evening, according to a Portland Police Bureau press release. At the time of his arrest, Diaz was wearing a ballistic vest and a gas mask. He was cited for Unlawful Directing of Light from a Laser Pointer, a misdemeanor under Oregon law, and was held on a U.S. Marshals Service detainer. At approximately 12:30 a.m., a second individual was arrested for allegedly trespassing in a restricted area on the east side of the ICE facility, police said. Mariana M. Rivera-Loza, 19, of Portland, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on a charge of Second-Degree Criminal Trespass. Police noted that a shield was found in her possession at the time of the arrest. One arrest was made for trespassing and the other for pointing a laser at federal officers, according to the Portland Police Bureau. What People Are Saying McLaughlin told Newsweek: Our officers are facing a 413 percent increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, and gang members. Secretary Noem's message to the rioters is clear: you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Washington Post
37 minutes ago
- Washington Post
What did Sen. Alex Padilla get handcuffed for?
Last week, a Democratic senator walked into a news conference with questions. He left in handcuffs. 'Is this really happening?' Alex Padilla thought to himself. This week, he's thinking about what happened. 'Never did I imagine hands on me, and let alone being put on the ground,' Padilla, California's first Latino senator, said in an interview at an office inside the Capitol this week.
