A video shared on social media Wednesday morning shows federal agents in Los Angeles ram an unsuspecting vehicle and take the occupant into custody at gunpoint.
On Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed that it was an operation by federal agents as part of a “targeted arrest” of a man they say assaulted an immigration officer.
The video was posted on Bluesky by journalist and videographer Sean Beckner-Carmitchel.
The video is a recording of a screen replaying security footage from a nearby business. In it, a white Mercedes sedan is seen waiting to turn from Calzona Street on Whittier Boulevard in Boyle Heights.
As the Mercedes begins its turn, an unmarked silver pickup pulls out in front of it blocking its path, while an unmarked silver or light-blue SUV rams it from behind.
The video continues to show several men exit the vehicle with guns pointed as the driver exits with his hands up and is taken into custody. Smoke can also be seen rising from the behind the sedan, potentially from a pepper ball round or another law enforcement munition.
Witnesses at the scene said the driver wasn’t the only occupant of the vehicle, rather a woman and two children, one of whom is an infant, were also in the car when federal agents smashed into it.
Sky5 was over the scene shortly after the video was shared on Bluesky. Video showed a crowd developing at the adjacent business where the original security footage is believed to have been filmed. The business owner later provided a copy of the video to KTLA upon request.
The white Mercedes sedan shown in the video could be seen parked on the curb not far from the intersection.
The involved federal agents were not at the scene by the time Sky5 arrived.
As with most clandestine operations by DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, little details were shared with local law enforcement or the media.
The Los Angeles police and fire departments responded to the scene Wednesday morning. LAFD officials said there was no evidence of a crash and no need for paramedics. Police officers remained on scene but no further details were released.
Around 1:40 p.m., DHS confirmed its agents were involved in the arrest, calling the person taken into custody a “violent rioter who punched a CBP officer.”
“When Homeland Security Investigations tried to arrest Christian Damian Cerno-Camacho for the assault, he attempted to flee. He was ultimately arrested and taken into custody,” DHS officials wrote on X.
This is just the latest instance of an arrest by federal agents that have happened in broad daylight and without warning across the city. Last week, after search warrants were served in several locations downtown, protesters clashed with federal agents as they took detainees into custody and drove them to a holding facility.
In the days since, demonstrations and protests have broken out throughout the downtown corridor, with some overnight protests turning violent with vandalism and raids.
Tuesday night, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a curfew for a one-square-mile triangular parcel of land in downtown that included Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Skid Row and the Fashion District. Officials have not said if that curfew will remain in place moving forward.
In that DHS post on social media, officials vowed that immigration enforcement raids would not be coming to an end any time soon. “You will not stop us or slow us down,” the post continues. “And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The post Video shows unmarked vehicles ram car in ICE arrest in east Los Angeles appeared first on KTLA.
