Latest news with #JasonBrianGavidia
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
An American Man Is Opening Up About Regretting His Vote For Trump After He Was Stopped By Border Patrol
A California man who alleges border patrol agents racially profiled him during a stop in June said in a story Monday that he feels guilty about voting for President Donald Trump in the last presidential election. 'I truly believe I was targeted because of my race,' Jason Brian Gavidia told NBC affiliate KNBC on Monday. 'I believe I was racially profiled. I believe I was attacked because I was walking while brown. Where is the freedom? Where is the justice? We live in America.' Related: Gavidia is one of five people represented in a class action lawsuit by the ACLU of Southern California accusing the Trump administration of racially profiling people while conducting immigration enforcement activities. Last month, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties. However, the administration petitioned the Supreme Court last week to lift the order. Related: A video taken on June 12 and published by the Los Angeles Times days later shows two masked border patrol agents in sunglasses pushing Gavidia against a metal gated fence outside a tow yard. 'I am an American, bro,' Gavidia can be heard saying in the video. Related: 'What hospital were you born in?' an agent yells. 'I don't know, dawg,' Gavidia responds, before offering to show his ID. The lawsuit alleges that border patrol agents twisted Gavidia's arm during the public questioning and took his phone. The border patrol agents eventually let Gavidia go, but he was left traumatized from the experience. 'Every time I see it on video, it's like a bad memory that's in my brain,' Gavidia told KNBC. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin has issued a series of confusing statements regarding the incident. When reached for comment by the LA Times back in June, she claimed Gavidia had been 'arrested' for assaulting border patrol agents. When the Times noted that Gavidia had not been arrested, McLaughlin backtracked, clarifying he had only been questioned and it was actually his friend who was arrested. On Wednesday, McLaughlin sent another conflicting statement to HuffPost, claiming Gavidia 'was arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer and interfering with agents during their duties.' HuffPost has reached out for additional clarification. McLaughlin's statement to HuffPost also asserted that 'any allegations that individuals have been 'targeted' by law enforcement because of their skin color are FALSE.' Related: Gavidia is one of many Trump supporters who still got caught up in the president's ruthless immigration enforcement policies, despite voting for him in the last election. He told KNBC he now feels guilty about his vote in the last election and believes 'it was a mistake' because Trump 'ran on lies.' 'If this was going to happen, do you think we would have voted? We're humans. We're not going to destroy our community,' Gavidia said. 'We're not going to destroy our people.'This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Also in In the News: Also in In the News: Also in In the News:
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘I Am American, Bro!': MAGA Supporter Regrets Trump Vote After ICE Confrontation
Jason Brian Gavidia is a proud American. He even has the first words to the Constitution—'We the people'—tattooed in large black lettering across his back. He voted for President Donald Trump. Then, he was stopped by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And now he has changed his mind. 'I am American, bro!' Gavidia, 29, protested as two masked, rifle-toting immigration agents held him against the wall, asking for proof of his citizenship. The ICE agents had stopped him and his friend, Javier Ramirez, 32, another U.S. citizen, as they walked the streets of Montebello, a majority-Latino city east of Los Angeles. 'What hospital were you born?' one agent barked at Gavidia. 'I don't know, dawg!' he said. 'East L.A., bro!' Ramirez recorded the altercation on his phone before Ramirez himself was wrestled to the ground and driven to a detention center. 'I believe I was racially profiled. I believe I was attacked because I was walking while brown,' Gavidia told NBC Los Angeles. Gavidia, shaken by the experience, has pivoted his political views. Though he was once a Trump supporter, Gavidia now condemns the Trump administration's immigration raids. 'He ran on lies,' Gavidia told NBC. 'We were all manipulated, we were all brainwashed, and now look at us. We're all suffering because of it. And I feel guilty 100 percent.' 'Where's the freedom? Where's the justice?' Gavidia said, waving a pocket constitution he now carries with him. 'That's why I'm protecting the constitution.' Gavidia is now one of the plaintiffs named in a class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the Trump administration. NBC Los Angeles reported that the lawsuit resulted in a court order protecting individuals in seven Southern California counties from being arrested by federal agents due to their race, accent, or place of work. The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the White House for comment. Now, Gavidia says he is repenting for his voting history by holding 'Know Your Rights' workshops and by distributing cards to immigrants that inform them of their rights when interacting with federal agents. Gavidia is not the first Trump supporter that the administration has targeted, and will likely not be the last. Solve the daily Crossword
