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In the full nine-minute video you can see the moment the agent drops his gun and starts pointing it at bystanders.
HYATTSVILLE, Md. — A video showing what appears to be U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents forcefully arresting a man in Hyattsville is sparking outrage and a protest in Prince George’s County.
The nine-minute video, captured by a bystander known as Raphi Talisman, shows several ICE agents—one of them masked—tackling a man to the ground at the intersection of Hamilton Street and Queens Chapel Road on Thursday. At one point, the man is heard shouting that he is an American citizen. During the scuffle, a firearm carried by one of the agents falls to the street. The agent picks it up and briefly points it toward the onlookers.
“He could’ve shot anyone,” said neighbor Beverley Sjoblad, who was among a group of residents protesting at the same intersection just one day later. “I was horrified. I couldn’t believe that these people could do that to another human being.”
Community members gathered Friday with signs, songs, and calls for change, demanding answers and accountability.
“This community is in crisis,” said protest organizer Gary Rush. “Just having people not just pulled off the street but having their heads smashed to the asphalt—just disgusting.”
Hyattsville Councilmember Edouard Haba joined the demonstration, condemning the actions seen in the video.
“What is happening is disgusting,” Haba said. “It’s no longer enforcing the law—it’s actually breaking the law, and that’s not acceptable.”
Though local officials have no jurisdiction over federal immigration enforcement, many are speaking out. Prince George’s County Councilmember Wanika Fisher, who also attended the protest, criticized ICE’s actions as “lawless.”
“They do not care what individuals’ rights are, regardless of status,” Fisher said. “They do not actually care about public safety in any way—with a gun being tossed around.”
Fisher added that Prince George’s County Police do not cooperate with ICE and said she has introduced an emergency resolution to prohibit law enforcement officers from wearing masks unless for medical reasons.
As passing drivers honked in support of the demonstrators, some saw it as a sign that the community is waking up.
“That little act of honking, as simple as it is, for many people, it may be the first time it hit them that, ‘yes, I’m against what my government is doing right now,’” Rush said.
He also criticized federal immigration priorities under former President Donald Trump.
“He says we’re going after the bad [people],” Rush said. “If he was going after murderers and rapists, no one would be out here. But I think 75 percent of the people they’re picking up, their only ‘crime’ is that they came here.”
As of Friday, ICE had not responded to WUSA9’s request for comment. The identity of the man arrested and the reason for his arrest remain unknown.
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