San Francisco: ICE clashes with protesters; charge knife-wielding suspect (Picture credit: DHS)
Federal authorities on Friday said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers clashed with protesters in San Francisco this week, with one knife-wielding suspect now facing charges after allegedly threatening to stab an officer and target his family. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the incident happened on Wednesday outside 100 Montgomery Street, where ICE agents were carrying out immigration enforcement. Around 15–20 demonstrators surrounded four officers, spraying pepper spray and physically assaulting them. One officer sustained a jammed finger, while others suffered irritation from chemical spray, DHS said. Court filings cited by the New York Post identified the suspect as Adrian Guerrero, a US citizen. He has been charged with assaulting an officer and destruction of property. Guerrero is accused of slashing the tire of a government-marked Chevrolet earlier that morning before confronting ICE agents. While wielding a black knife and wearing a patterned keffiyeh-style scarf with tinted goggles, Guerrero allegedly shouted, “I’m going to f** you up. I’m going to go after your family. I’m going to stab you.” Photos cited in the complaint show Guerrero confronting agents, reported the New York Post. He was arrested still carrying the knife and clothing described. Federal Protective Services and San Francisco police later arrived to help disperse the crowd. According to KQED, confrontations with protesters began earlier that morning near the immigration courthouse. An ICE officer pepper-sprayed both a protester and a reporter, who said he was filming the incident when an officer grabbed a bicycle handle and sprayed without provocation. “It wasn’t provoked … There were no aggressive movements other than me approaching the scene,” the journalist was quoted as saying by KQED. At least one protester was later detained outside ICE’s Sansome Street field office after being tackled, zip-tied, and taken inside. KQED reported that an ICE officer also fired a weapon that released white powder during a scuffle involving a protester and a bike. The confrontation eventually dispersed, though many protesters regrouped at the courthouse midmorning. Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem condemned the assault, saying ICE officers now face a “1,000% increase in assaults” while targeting dangerous offenders. “These acts of violence are fuelled by sanctuary politicians’ rhetoric vilifying our law enforcement,” she said in a DHS statement. “We will not and have not let this violence stop us or slow us down”, she added. The attack follows other violent confrontations with federal agents. In July, ten armed men in tactical gear opened fire on an ICE detention centre near Dallas, where all suspects were later charged with attempted murder, according to the New York Post.
