Adrian Martinez, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen who was violently taken into custody by ICE agents in Pico Rivera, has been released from federal detention on a $5,000 bond, his attorneys announced Friday.
“We’re very grateful our client will be released today,” said attorneys from the Miller Law Group. “Adrian did nothing wrong, and was standing up for an elderly janitorial worker when he was violently assaulted and abducted by masked federal agents.”
The incident occurred Tuesday in the parking lot of a large retail center that includes a Lowe’s Home Improvement store in the 8600 block of Washington Boulevard.
Video footage shows at least six federal law enforcement officers in a physical struggle with Martinez, who works at a nearby Walmart. Amid the chaos, someone can be heard shouting, “He’s a U.S. citizen!”
Martinez appears to resist but is quickly taken to the ground and overpowered by additional agents before being placed in the back of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle. According to his family, Martinez intervened after witnessing ICE agents questioning a man, which escalated into a physical confrontation.
The video does not show what happened immediately before the struggle, and it remains unclear what exactly led up to the incident. Since the footage went viral and sparked protests outside Pico Rivera City Hall, federal officials have pushed back on public criticism.
“Once again, a false narrative is and was being pushed out on the arrest of a U.S. Citizen in Pico Rivera, CA.,” U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino said in a post to X. “Don’t take our word for it, check out [U.S. Attorney Eassayli’s] take on it. This subject just caught a federal case for assault on a federal agent. DON’T ASSAULT.”
Bovino was referring an earlier post from U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who shared video of the incident on his official government X account and alleged that Martinez had punched “a border patrol agent in the face after he attempted to impede their immigration operation.”
However, attorneys with the Miller Law Group say no assault charges were filed against Martinez.
“U.S. Attorney Essayli and U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino outrageously alleged that Adrian assaulted a federal agent. However he has not been charged with an assault charge because he didn’t assault anyone, and the evidence of that is clear,” the law group said in a statement. “Instead, he has been charged with conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, a felony. This is a clearly trumped-up charge filed to justify the federal agents’ violent treatment of Adrian.”
The Miller Law Group said it plans to release more details in the coming days but added that for now, they are “happy that Adrian will be able to get some rest and spend the weekend at home with his family.”
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