Masked men in Border Patrol vests take California father after repeatedly hitting him
In graphic video that has since gone viral, some seven or more masked men wearing U.S. Border Patrol vests were seen violently detaining a father in Santa Ana, Calif., before forcing him into the back of an unmarked car on Saturday.
The violent incident sparked protests in the following hours, and an online fundraiser was started through GoFundMe, where family members identified the victim as Tustin, Calif., resident Narciso Barranco, a father to three sons who are all U.S. Marines.
One of those sons, 25-year-old Alejandro Barranco, told KTLA that his father was pepper-sprayed in addition to repeatedly being punched in the face during his detention. According to Alejandro, Narciso was picked up by alleged federal immigration officers while he was working as a landscaper at the IHOP on Edinger Avenue and Ritchey Street.
The video shared by the Instagram account @SantaAnaProblems shows a group of men wearing hats and face coverings and police vests converge on Narciso, holding him down while one man repeatedly hits him on the head. Some men are standing guard around the scene before the group again seizes Narciso, with one man holding a baton at the back of Narciso's neck to push him into the backseat of a silver SUV.
KTLA has reached out to city and state officials and is awaiting a response. A Santa Ana Police spokesperson said they are aware of the video circulating on social media, but had no further details. No local or federal officials have confirmed to KTLA whether the masked men were federal officers.
'He is a good, hard working man. He has raised his family here and has established himself here,' reads the GoFundMe page. 'Please help the Barranco family with whatever you can to ensure he is able to receive the proper legal counsel to represent him.' As of Saturday evening, Alejandro was working on getting in contact with his father.
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San Francisco Chronicle
44 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Marine veteran says Border Patrol agents beat his dad, while agency says he swung trimmer at them
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A U.S. Marine Corps veteran said he was shocked to see a video on social media of his father, a landscaper in Southern California, being beaten by masked U.S. Border Patrol officers as he was pinned to the ground during an immigration arrest. The Saturday arrest of Narciso Barranco, who came to the U.S. from Mexico in the 1990s but does not have legal status, is the latest to capture widespread attention as the crackdown on immigration by President Donald Trump's administration draws scrutiny and protests. Witnesses uploaded videos of the arrest in Santa Ana, a city in Orange County between San Diego and Los Angeles. No footage showed the entire incident from start to finish as agents struggled with Barranco outside an IHOP restaurant. Narciso Barranco was taken to a federal immigration detention center in downtown Los Angeles where he is in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Marine veteran Alejandro Barranco, said his father called him Sunday and told him that he was in a lot of pain. 'He just started crying,' Barranco said of his 48-year-old father. The Department of Homeland Security said Barranco refused to comply with commands and swung his weed trimmer at an agent. The agents 'took appropriate action and followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation in a manner that prioritizes the safety of the public and our officers,' the email statement added. Alejandro Barranco said his father had no criminal record and is kind and hardworking. He said the agents' use of force was unnecessary and differed greatly from his military training for crowds and riot control. He aided the U.S. military's evacuation of personnel and Afghan allies from Afghanistan in 2021. 'It's uncalled for, not appropriate or professional in the way they handled that situation,' Barranco said. 'It looks like he's putting up resistance on the ground but that's a natural human reaction and I think anybody would do that to defend themselves when they are being beaten on the ground by four men.' The federal government said they've seen an uptick in people interfering with arrests that has put its agents at risk. Trump has deployed the California National Guard and Marines to guard federal buildings in Southern California and protect federal law enforcement officers. DHS shared a video in which Barranco is seen running with the trimmer in the air as agents try to corral him. At one point, an agent sprays him with pepper spray, and Barranco moves the trimmer between him and the agent but it does not touch him. Behind him, another officer has his gun drawn as he crosses a busy intersection. In other video footage, Barranco is seen running through the intersection still holding his long trimmer upright as a truck moves to block his path. He's then seen darting to another lane and tries to open a car door before agents tackle him. As he screams and yells, cars honk and one motorist shouts: 'Leave him alone, bro.' An agent tells Barranco to give him his hand as he lies prone. Video footage from another angle shows an officer hitting Barranco repeatedly on the head and neck as he screams and moans and moves around. Another motorist is heard yelling in Spanish 'why are you hitting him?' The department said in an email to The Associated Press that Barranco 'swung a weed whacker directly at an agent's face. He then fled through a busy intersection and raised the weed whacker again at the agent.' It added that Barranco was offered medical care but declined. All three of Barranco's sons were born in the United States and eventually joined the U.S. military. Alejandro left the Marine Corps in 2023. His two brothers are currently active-duty Marines. 'We joined the Marine Corps because we love our country and want to give back,' he said. 'Our parents taught us to be appreciative, be thankful of our country, about being patriots.' His father was worried about immigration officials arresting him and the family had looked into his options but Alejandro said his dad never found the time to tend to the matter as he focused on his landscaping business. In fact, the first thing he said to his son when they spoke after the arrest was to check on his landscaping client to make sure no mess had been left when he dropped everything and fled from agents, Alejandro said.
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Immigrant father of three Marines is violently detained in Santa Ana, injured by federal agents, son says
Video of a landscaper being taken down, pinned and repeatedly punched by masked federal agents in Orange County has gone viral online, and Alejandro Barranco finds it painful to watch. The Marine veteran says his father, Narciso Barranco, was working outside of a Santa Ana IHOP on Saturday when several masked men approached him. Frightened, he began to run away, his son said. Moments later, he was on the ground, held down by the men, who struck him. The younger Barranco told The Times on Sunday that his father was pepper sprayed and beaten, and that his shoulder was dislocated. After speaking with him Sunday at about 6 p.m., Barranco said his father had not received medical treatment, food or water after more than 24 hours in a detention facility in Los Angeles. 'I don't think it was just, I don't think it was fair,' Barranco said of the use of force against his father. 'I don't think they need four 200 [pounds]-plus guys to hold down a 5-6 or 5-7, 150-pound guy.' In a statement to The Times on Monday, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security confirmed Border Patrol agents arrested Barranco, who she said was an 'illegal alien,' on Saturday. She alleges Barranco swung a weed whacker directly at an agent's face and refused to comply with the agents' commands or requests to identify himself. 'The agents took appropriate action and followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation in a manner that prioritizes the safety of the public and our officers. He is now in ICE custody,' her statement continued. McLaughlin also said claims that officers dislocated Barranco's shoulder are false, and that he was offered medical care but declined. 'Resisting arrest places those being arrested, the agents, and the community at risk,' she said in her emailed statement. 'Law enforcement is now facing a 500% increase in assaults while carrying out enforcement operations. But this will not deter CBP — we will continue enforcing the law and protecting American communities.' The video of the encounter between Barranco and immigration officials has circulated on social media, sparking outrage and the creation of a GoFundMe to help with legal representation that had generated more than $48,000 as of Sunday night. The 48-year-old is a hardworking landscaper and a kind person, his son said. 'If anyone ever needed any help, he was always there,' he said. 'He's very well known in our community.' On his first call to his son after the detainment, Barranco was less concerned with his injuries and more concerned with his job. He told him where his truck and equipment were and asked him to speak with his client and finish the job, the younger Barranco said. Alejandro Barranco, 25, is a veteran of the U.S. Marines and his two younger brothers, Emanuel and José Luis Barranco, are active-duty members. With 700 Marines from Twentynine Palms deployed in Los Angeles in the wake of protests over recent immigration raids, Barranco said he understood that many of his fellow Marines are just following orders. 'I just know that ... they also have mixed feelings about everything going on,' Barranco said. 'I know they love their country, they want to serve their country, but I'm also sure that they love their parents and they love their family members who are undocumented. 'I'm pretty sure we're all pushing for the same thing,' he said, 'which is a change in our system.'
Yahoo
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