Latest news with #NorthPalmBeach
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Immigration agents told a teenage US citizen: ‘You've got no rights.' He secretly recorded his brutal arrest
On the morning of 2 May, teenager Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio was driving to his landscaping job in North Palm Beach with his mother and two male friends when they were pulled over by the Florida highway patrol. In one swift moment, a traffic stop turned into a violent arrest. A highway patrol officer asked everyone in the van to identify themselves, then called for backup. Officers with US border patrol arrived on the scene. Video footage of the incident captured by Laynez-Ambrosio, an 18-year-old US citizen, appears to show a group of officers in tactical gear working together to violently detain the three men*, two of whom are undocumented. They appear to use a stun gun on one man, put another in a chokehold and can be heard telling Laynez-Ambrosio: 'You've got no rights here. You're a migo, brother.' Afterward, agents can be heard bragging and making light of the arrests, calling the stun gun use 'funny' and quipping: 'You can smell that … $30,000 bonus.' The footage has put fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used by US law enforcement officials as the Trump administration sets ambitious enforcement targets to detain thousands of immigrants every day. 'The federal government has imposed quotas for the arrest of immigrants,' said Jack Scarola, an attorney who is advocating on behalf of Laynez-Ambrosio and working with the non-profit Guatemalan-Maya Center, which provided the footage to the Guardian. 'Any time law enforcement is compelled to work towards a quota, it poses a significant risk to other rights.' The incident unfolded at roughly 9am, when a highway patrol officer pulled over the company work van, driven by Laynez-Ambrosio's mother, and discovered that she had a suspended license. Laynez-Ambrosio said he is unsure why the van was pulled over, as his mother was driving below the speed limit. Laynez-Ambrosio hadn't intended to film the interaction – he already had his phone out to show his mom 'a silly TikTok', he said – but immediately clicked record when it became clear what was happening. The video begins after the van has been pulled over and the border patrol had arrived. A female officer can be heard asking, in Spanish, whether anyone is in the country illegally. One of Laynez-Ambrosio's friends answers that he is undocumented. 'That's when they said, 'OK, let's go,'' Laynez-Ambrosio recalled. Laynez-Ambrosio said things turned aggressive before the group even had a chance to exit the van. One of the officers 'put his hand inside the window', he said, 'popped the door open, grabbed my friend by the neck and had him in a chokehold'. Footage appears to show officers then reaching for Laynez-Ambrosio and his other friend as Laynez-Ambrosio can be heard protesting: 'You can't grab me like that.' Multiple officers can be seen pulling the other man from the van and telling him to 'put your fucking head down'. The footage captures the sound of a stun gun as Laynez-Ambrosio's friend cries out in pain and drops to the ground. Laynez-Ambrosio said that his friend was not resisting, and that he didn't speak English and didn't understand the officer's commands. 'My friend didn't do anything before they grabbed him,' he said. In the video, Laynez-Ambrosio can be heard repeatedly telling his friend, in Spanish, to not resist. 'I wasn't really worried about myself because I knew I was going to get out of the situation,' he said. 'But I was worried about him. I could speak up for him but not fight back, because I would've made the situation worse.' Laynez-Ambrosio can also be heard telling officers: 'I was born and raised right here.' Still, he was pushed to the ground and says that an officer aimed a stun gun at him. He was subsequently arrested and held in a cell at a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) station for six hours. Audio in the video catches the unidentified officers debriefing and appearing to make light of the stun gun use. 'You're funny, bro,' one officer can be overheard saying to another, followed by laughter. Another officer says, 'They're starting to resist more now,' to which an officer replies: 'We're going to end up shooting some of them.' Later in the footage, the officers move on to general celebration – 'Goddamn! Woo! Nice!' – and talk of the potential bonus they'll be getting: 'Just remember, you can smell that [inaudible] $30,000 bonus.' It is unclear what bonus they are referring to. Donald Trump's recent spending bill includes billions of additional dollars for Ice that could be spent on recruitment and retention tactics such as bonuses. Laynez-Ambrosio said his two friends were eventually transferred to the Krome detention center in Miami. He believes they were released on bail and are awaiting a court hearing, but said it has been difficult to stay in touch with them. Laynez-Ambrosio's notice to appear in court confirms that the border patrol arrived on the scene, having been called in by the highway patrol. His other legal representative, Victoria Mesa-Estrada, also confirmed that border patrol officers transported the three men to the border patrol facility. The Florida highway patrol, CBP, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to requests for comment before publication. Laynez-Ambrosio was charged with obstruction without violence and sentenced to 10 hours of community service and a four-hour anger management course. While in detention, he said, police threatened him with charges if he did not delete the video footage from his phone, but he refused. Scarola, his lawyer, said the charges were retaliation for filming the incident. 'Kenny was charged with filming [and was] alleged to have interfered with the activities of law enforcement,' he explained. 'But there was no intended interference – merely the exercise of a right to record what was happening.' In February, Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, signed an agreement between the state and the Department of Homeland Security allowing Florida highway patrol troopers to be trained and approved by Ice to arrest and detain immigrants. While such agreements have been inked across the US, Florida has the largest concentration of these deals. Father Frank O'Loughlin, founder and executive director of the Guatemalan-Maya Center, the advocates for Laynez-Ambrosio, says the incident has further eroded trust between Florida's immigrant community and the police. 'This is a story about the corruption of law enforcement by Maga and the brutality of state and federal troopers – formerly public servants – towards nonviolent people,' he said. Meanwhile, Laynez-Ambrosio is trying to recover from the ordeal, and hopes the footage raises awareness of how immigrants are being treated in the US. 'It didn't need to go down like that. If they knew that my people were undocumented, they could've just kindly taken them out of the car and arrested them,' he said. 'It hurt me bad to see my friends like that. Because they're just good people, trying to earn an honest living.' The Guardian is granting anonymity to Laynez-Ambrosio's mother and the men arrested in the footage to protect their privacy
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Immigration agents told a teenage US citizen: ‘You've got no rights.' He secretly recorded his brutal arrest
On the morning of 2 May, Florida teenager Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio was driving to his landscaping job in North Palm Beach with his mother and two male friends when they were pulled over by the Florida highway patrol. In one swift moment, a traffic stop turned into a violent arrest. A highway patrol officer asked everyone in the van to identify themselves, then called for backup. Officers with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrived on the scene. Video footage of the incident captured by Laynez-Ambrosio, an 18-year-old US citizen, appears to show a group of officers in tactical gear working together to violently detain the three men*, two of whom are undocumented. They appear to use a stun gun on one man, put another in a chokehold and can be heard telling Laynez-Ambrosio: 'You've got no rights here. You're a migo, brother.' Afterward, agents can be heard bragging and making light of the arrests, calling the stun gun use 'funny' and quipping: 'You can smell that … $30,000 bonus.' The footage has put fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used by US law enforcement as the Trump administration sets ambitious enforcement targets to detain thousands of immigrants every day. 'The federal government has imposed quotas for the arrest of immigrants,' said Jack Scarola, an attorney who is advocating on behalf of Laynez-Ambrosio and working with the non-profit Guatemalan-Maya Center, which provided the footage to the Guardian. 'Any time law enforcement is compelled to work towards a quota, it poses a significant risk to other rights.' The incident unfolded at roughly 9am, when a highway patrol officer pulled over the company work van, driven by Laynez-Ambrosio's mother, and discovered that she had a suspended license. Laynez-Ambrosio said he is unsure why the van was pulled over, as his mother was driving below the speed limit. Laynez-Ambrosio hadn't intended to film the interaction – he already had his phone out to show his mom 'a silly TikTok', he said – but immediately clicked record when it became clear what was happening. The video begins after the van has been pulled over and the border patrol had arrived. A female officer can be heard asking, in Spanish, whether anyone is in the country illegally. One of Laynez-Ambrosio's friends answers that he is undocumented. 'That's when they said, 'OK, let's go,'' Laynez-Ambrosio recalled. Laynez-Ambrosio said things turned aggressive before the group even had a chance to exit the van. One of the officers 'put his hand inside the window', he said, 'popped the door open, grabbed my friend by the neck and had him in a chokehold'. Footage appears to show officers then reaching for Laynez-Ambrosio and his other friend as Laynez-Ambrosio can be heard protesting: 'You can't grab me like that.' Multiple officers can be seen pulling the other man from the van and telling him to 'put your fucking head down'. The footage captures the sound of a stun gun as Laynez-Ambrosio's friend cries out in pain and drops to the ground. Laynez-Ambrosio said that his friend was not resisting, and that he didn't speak English and didn't understand the officer's commands. 'My friend didn't do anything before they grabbed him,' he said. In the video, Laynez-Ambrosio can be heard repeatedly telling his friend, in Spanish, to not resist. 'I wasn't really worried about myself because I knew I was going to get out of the situation,' he said. 'But I was worried about him. I could speak up for him but not fight back, because I would've made the situation worse.' Laynez-Ambrosio can also be heard telling officers: 'I was born and raised right here.' Still, he was pushed to the ground and says that an officer aimed a stun gun at him. He was subsequently arrested and held in a cell at a CBP station for six hours. Audio in the video catches the unidentified officers debriefing and appearing to make light of the stun gun use. 'You're funny, bro,' one officer can be overheard saying to another, followed by laughter. Another officer says, 'They're starting to resist more now,' to which an officer replies: 'We're going to end up shooting some of them.' Later in the footage, the officers move on to general celebration – 'Goddamn! Woo! Nice!' – and talk of the potential bonus they'll be getting: 'Just remember, you can smell that [inaudible] $30,000 bonus.' It is unclear what bonus they're referring to. Donald Trump's recent spending bill includes billions of additional dollars for Ice that could be spent on recruitment and retention tactics such as bonuses. Laynez-Ambrosio said his two friends were eventually transferred to the Krome detention center in Miami. He believes they were released on bail and are awaiting a court hearing, but said it has been difficult to stay in touch with them. Laynez-Ambrosio's notice to appear in court confirms that the border patrol arrived on the scene, having been called in by the highway patrol. His other legal representative, Victoria Mesa-Estrada, also confirmed that border patrol officers transported the three men to the border patrol facility. The Florida highway patrol, CBP, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to requests for comment before publication. Laynez-Ambrosio was charged with obstruction without violence and sentenced to 10 hours of community service and a four-hour anger management course. While in detention, he said, police threatened him with charges if he did not delete the video footage from his phone, but he refused. Scarola, his lawyer, said the charges were retaliation for filming the incident. 'Kenny was charged with filming [and was] alleged to have interfered with the activities of law enforcement,' he explained. 'But there was no intended interference – merely the exercise of a right to record what was happening.' In February, Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, signed an agreement between the state and the Department of Homeland Security allowing Florida highway patrol troopers to be trained and approved by Ice to arrest and detain immigrants. While such agreements have been inked across the US, Florida has the largest concentration of these deals. Father Frank O'Loughlin, founder and executive director of the Guatemalan-Maya Center, the advocates for Laynez-Ambrosio, says the incident has further eroded trust between Florida's immigrant community and the police. 'This is a story about the corruption of law enforcement by Maga and the brutality of state and federal troopers – formerly public servants – towards nonviolent people,' he said. Meanwhile, Laynez-Ambrosio is trying to recover from the ordeal, and hopes the footage raises awareness of how immigrants are being treated in the US. 'It didn't need to go down like that. If they knew that my people were undocumented, they could've just kindly taken them out of the car and arrested them,' he said. 'It hurt me bad to see my friends like that. Because they're just good people, trying to earn an honest living.' The Guardian is granting anonymity to Laynez-Ambrosio's mother and the men arrested in the footage to protect their privacy
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Browns owners close on $25 million home after Ohio gives them $600 million for new stadium
After the state of Ohio gave Jimmy and Dee Haslam $600 million for the proposed move of the Cleveland Browns to Brook Park, the couple purchased a $25 million North Palm Beach, Fla. mansion three days later, according to reports. The oceanfront home is 5,906 square feet on 1.1 acres of land. It was purchased through Dee Haslam's Knox-Main Trust. Advertisement The home, which was built in 1971, was purchased in an off-market sale. It was previously sold in 1990 for $3.2 million. It's inside the gated Lost Tree Village neighborhood. In a situation that's been controversial, the optics of such a move cannot be considered ideal. The Haslam Sports Group received a gift from the state in the recently passed budget bill. And, yes, it's basically a gift that won't have to be repaid, contrary to reports that said that tax revenues from the proposed entertainment district with a domed stadium as its centerpiece, would replace monies taken from the state's unclaimed funds account. Advertisement In the budget the Republican-dominated state legislature established a Sports and Cultural Facility Fund with monies from holdings in the unclaimed funds account. Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam watches his team during practice at NFL minicamp, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. reported that the $600 million will not have to be repaid. The Haslam Sports Group was only required to put $100 million in escrow to cover potential stadium shortfalls. If there are no shortfalls, that money will be returned. That gift could face obstacles as two former Democratic members of the legislature have filed a class-action suit on behalf of three individuals to halt the transfer of funds in Franklin County Court. Advertisement No one should tell anyone how or when to spend their money, but... George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns owners Jimmy, Dee Haslam close on $25 million Florida mansion
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Browns owners close on $25 million home after Ohio gives them $600 million for new stadium
After the state of Ohio gave Jimmy and Dee Haslam $600 million for the proposed move of the Cleveland Browns to Brook Park, the couple purchased a $25 million North Palm Beach, Fla. mansion three days later, according to reports. The oceanfront home is 5,906 square feet on 1.1 acres of land. It was purchased through Dee Haslam's Knox-Main Trust. Advertisement The home, which was built in 1971, was purchased in an off-market sale. It was previously sold in 1990 for $3.2 million. It's inside the gated Lost Tree Village neighborhood. In a situation that's been controversial, the optics of such a move cannot be considered ideal. The Haslam Sports Group received a gift from the state in the recently passed budget bill. And, yes, it's basically a gift that won't have to be repaid, contrary to reports that said that tax revenues from the proposed entertainment district with a domed stadium as its centerpiece, would replace monies taken from the state's unclaimed funds account. Advertisement In the budget the Republican-dominated state legislature established a Sports and Cultural Facility Fund with monies from holdings in the unclaimed funds account. Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam watches his team during practice at NFL minicamp, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. reported that the $600 million will not have to be repaid. The Haslam Sports Group was only required to put $100 million in escrow to cover potential stadium shortfalls. If there are no shortfalls, that money will be returned. That gift could face obstacles as two former Democratic members of the legislature have filed a class-action suit on behalf of three individuals to halt the transfer of funds in Franklin County Court. Advertisement No one should tell anyone how or when to spend their money, but... George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns owners Jimmy, Dee Haslam close on $25 million Florida mansion
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Man arrested after storming Mar-a-Lago, seeking granddaughter
By A man scaled the walls of President Donald Trump's exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort and made an indecent proposal to marry Trump's teenage granddaughter. Reyes told officers he climbed over the towering wall which surrounds Mar-a-Lago in search of Kai, who turned 18 just last month. The teenage golfer was a familiar face on Trump's campaign trail and has amassed adoring fans, sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of her bond with her grandpa on social media. She attends school in North Palm Beach and is the daughter of Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. Reyes said he was also looking for Trump because he wanted to talk about 'the gospel.' It is not the first time the 23-year-old Texas man has attempted to access Mar-a-Lago. He was issued a stern warning for trespassing on December 31, 2024. At the time, Trump was present at the home. Reyes is being held at Palm Beach County Jail on a $50,000 bond. He has pleaded not guilty. While Kai has toned down her social media presence since Trump's return to the White House, she did share a video to YouTube just three days ago highlighting a vacation to the Bahamas with her best friend and family. She promoted her YouTube video via Instagram on Tuesday, breaking a 10-day social media silence. In the video, Kai shared her workout routine, a trip to the hair salon and sweet moments with her best friend on their trip. They dined with her mom, Vanessa Trump, and sipped on virgin strawberry daiquiris by the pool as she soaked up the summer sun. In true Kai fashion the keen golfer, who has committed to the University of Miami i n the fall, took some time out of her relaxing vacation to check out the golf course. 'I'm gonna hit some balls because why not,' she said in the vlog. 'Worked on my swing a little. It's beautiful. I'm not sure if you guys have ever been to Albany before... I love it.' Her grandfather - who owns 18 courses across the globe, including 11 in the US - also has a passion for golf and frequently enjoys a round at one of his clubs in Florida. Trump recently featured in one of Kai's vlogs to discuss her future prospects of turning pro. 'I just wanna say that I play a lot of golf with Kai and she's a fantastic golfer,' Trump said on camera. 'She's a scratch player, which is amazing. I think some day in the not-too-distant future she's gonna be much better than scratch.' However, the president stressed that there would only be one winner if they battled it out on the course. 'She's doing really well and she wins a lot of matches,' he added. 'And some day she'll be able to beat her grandfather, but I'm not sure when that'll be... it might be a long time!' Trump could then be seen laughing as his granddaughter jokingly challenged him to a one-on-one showdown. Kai's posts are often inundated with messages of support for her grandfather, as viewers beg her to 'pass on messages' to the president and express their adoration.
