Federal agents searched the homes of immigrant rights activists in an early morning raid that activists allege was retaliatory and part of an ongoing harassment campaign for their work patrolling and monitoring immigration operations in Ventura County.
Four locations were searched about 3 a.m. Wednesday, including the home and business of volunteer Leo Martinez, who said federal agents pointed guns at him and his mother during the search, but made no arrests.
Agents took cellphones and laptops, as well as T-shirts and skateboard decks with the logo for VC Defensa, a volunteer-based group that has been documenting immigration raids and detentions in Ventura County.
“We have nothing to hide,” Martinez said in an interview. “If they had access to all of our messaging going back to the beginning, there’s nothing in there.”
During a news conference Wednesday, members of VC Defensa and their attorney, Reem Yassin, said they were looking at the possibility of legal action against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for alleged ongoing harassment targeting members for what they said were legal activities monitoring and documenting immigration raids in their community.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that search warrants were executed in relation to VC Defensa but did not answer questions about the nature of the investigation.
“On May 13, [Homeland Security Investigations] executed several search warrants on individuals associated with an anti-ICE organization,” a Homeland Security spokesperson said in an email. “Several members of this organization have been previously arrested for ambushing federal law enforcement and destruction of government property. Several items were seized as part of the search warrants.”
The spokesperson did not address questions regarding whether the raids were done in retaliation for the group’s monitoring of immigration raids.
“This remains an ongoing investigation,” the email read. “To protect its integrity, we are unable to provide additional details at this time. Under President Trump, if you assault law enforcement officers, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
VC Defensa has been known to record and monitor Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Ventura County, as well as publish images and videos of their operations, but Martinez said the group adheres to the law.
However, he said he and the group have been targeted by federal agents for several months. He and other members of the group have been arrested and detained, including one incident in which federal agents were recorded on video appearing to ram his truck.
Federal agents claimed he was the aggressor in that incident, but Martinez said neither he nor other members of the group have faced any charges in connection with their work.
Martinez said he has been arrested twice but faced no charges.
“We don’t do anything other than alert the community that ICE officers are there,” he said. “We have to adhere to the law because we know if we cross that line, even a fraction for a bit, we know they’ll crush us.”
Martinez said he was awakened about 3 a.m. Wednesday by about 35 federal agents outside his home. He said he was held at gunpoint for about two hours with his mother before being released.
Then when he went to his shop, where members of VC Defensa often meet, he said he found the door had been broken down and the location searched.
During a news conference Thursday, members of the group said the early morning operation was part of an ongoing campaign of harassment, including members being followed home and prank calls on their hotline.
“We will not stand by and let them continue to try to intimidate us,” Lainy Yompian said during the conference.
Yassin said federal agents refused to allow her access to members of the group during the searches — “Not only denied, but threatened with arrest” — and told her to prove she was their attorney even though she and the group members told them so.
Martinez said the group was looking at its legal options but VC Defensa would continue its work despite the federal investigation.
“We keep moving forward,” he said. “We have a ton of patrolling still going on.”
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