‘Unhinged, angry psychopaths’: ICE agents in Oregon falsely accuse a man of interfering with their operations and threaten to arrest him

A recently viral video from Beaverton, Oregon, shows ICE agents doing something they insist they never do: threatening a U.S. citizen with arrest. And it wasn’t for blocking an operation or interfering in any meaningful sense. But for simply standing on a public sidewalk, filming.

In the footage, multiple Border Patrol and ICE agents surround a man, observing and recording them from a public space. He doesn’t approach their vehicles or obstruct their path. He isn’t shouting or threatening either. The man was doing exactly what the First Amendment allows: Watching and filming (via San Francisco Chronicle). But the agents respond by inventing crimes.

One agent tells the man, “We have your plate number. We saw you driving erratically. Very dangerous to the public.” But ICE agents are not local police. They do not have broad authority over U.S. citizens absent a crime. They cannot arrest someone for a traffic violation they did not witness. So, another agent interferes.

The agent tells the man he is “interfering” with their operations. When pressed to explain how, the accusation dissolves into vague claims. Yet, he claims that the man “could be arrested under USC 18 1 11.” Just then, a third agent joins to inform the man that they “know who he is” and have seen him following them the previous day. “Watch what you’re doing, dude,” he threatens.

The ICE agents keep repeating that the man had been interfering with their operations. But the man stands firm on his denial. This infuriates the agents, who now begin threatening the man fully:

If you continue, you will be in handcuffs. You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted under 18 USC Code 1 11. Get that through your head, dude.

But none of the agents’ claims is supported by anything visible in the video. None of it rises to probable cause. Yet, they threaten the man with arrest straight up. But for what, exactly? Standing on a sidewalk is not an interference. Filming federal agents in public is not obstruction.

When the man mocks the agent, saying, “I’m not breaking the law, and you fucking know it,” the ICE agents’ tone shifts from bluff to intimidation. One of them steps inches from the man’s face, pointing at him and yelling angrily. He physically presses into the man’s shoulder or chest while shouting, “One more time and I will put you in handcuffs.”

When the man tells him to get off him, the agent replies, “No, I’ll stand right here, pal. Right here all day,” continuing to crowd him. But the man doesn’t budge. He identifies the setup perfectly, out loud, on camera: “If I touch you, you’re going to arrest me, right?”

The agent then snaps. He screams that the man is “worthless” and has “no honor.” It’s a remarkable thing to say while threatening to arrest someone for not breaking the law. The ICE cannot detain someone for filming. They cannot declare “interference” simply because someone is present and documenting their actions.

Federal courts ruled years ago that recording law enforcement officers in public, so long as it does not physically obstruct them, is protected First Amendment activity. The right to observe and record is not conditional on an officer’s comfort level. Yet the agents in this video repeatedly pretend otherwise. They never articulate a specific unlawful act. They rely instead on tone, proximity, and threat.