A grandmother who plans to document ice arrests at the San Diego Palace of Justice became the story on Tuesday after the video of her own arrest began to circulate.
An ice agent accused the woman to push her. After spending hours in custody, he denied it to NBC 7 on Wednesday.
The last video to send shock waves of the San Diego Immigration Court through the Immigrant Community is not an immigrant, but rather of a 71 -year -old American citizen, Barbara Stone.
Stone was handcuffed and sustained by federal agents for eight hours on Tuesday, according to his family.
“I have a great bruise there,” Stone said Wednesday. “I feel mentally and physically traumatized.”
In a video of the incident, which was shared with NBC 7, the spectators can see the time when the tensions were injured. An officer says Stone pushed her.
NBC 7 made several attempts to contact ICE about the incident, but was sent to the Federal Protection Service, which is part of the National Security Department. FPS has not responded to a request for comments.
NBC 7 spoke with Stone’s husband, Gershon Shafir, the day his wife was arrested.
“She is a soft person who was here to protect innocent refugees, and is the last person in the universe who would hit an agent or interfere with her work,” Shafir said.
Stone was in court to observe the procedures and how the action of federal agents, which is legal and, according to Ruth Méndez de Resistance to detention, is a right of the first amendment.
“Fear is very, very real here,” said Méndez, “and the volunteers who present themselves today are coming, knowing that there could be a risk of our own detention.”
Charges against Stone have not been pressed, but his family said his phone was confiscated.
Méndez worries that there are invisible impacts, such as people who decide not to be volunteers. In the video, an officer can be heard suggesting that more people could be arrested.
“The message he sent was very clear: for us to be afraid to return and do the work we are doing,” said Méndez, adding that “all Americans should know that this is how the money of their taxpayers is being spent, and that it really is a shame crying. The people who are really suffering are the people looking for asylum.”
For his part, Stone said it would be voluntary again.
