A protester federal officials say was part of a group of “violent rioters” opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Santa Ana, California, is blind in his left eye after a federal officer allegedly fired a projectile at close range, the Associated Press reported.
The left-leaning news outlet cited video and accounts from fellow protesters and family of the injured protester, 21-year-old Kaden Rummler. The incident allegedly occurred on Friday outside of a federal immigration building during a protest of the shooting death of Renee Good in Minneapolis.
Hundreds of protesters marched in the streets until a smaller group cleaved off outside of the federal building by evening time. There, protesters shouted expletives about ICE and burned what appeared to be an American flag while yelling “Justice for Renee Good,” according to the report.
“The demonstrators came up onto the plaza, where a handful of agents stood in riot gear and held crowd-control gear. At one point, officials forcefully move a demonstrator back down onto the steps, and the group continues to chant as the agents appear to urge them to move back,” according to the report. “Later, an orange cone can be seen rolling up onto the plaza, and officers begin firing munitions as they walk toward the crowd. It is not clear if the cones were thrown and by whom.”
Rummler can reportedly be seen on video shouting through a megaphone along with other protesters outside of the building near several officers guarding in riot gear. Video shows officers approach the crowd and apprehend another demonstrator who appeared to resist the officer. That protester was later identified in the federal criminal complaint as Katelyn Skye Seitz.
According to the report:
In response, Rummler and a few other demonstrators step forward, shouting. One of the officers fires a crowd-control weapon, striking Rummler from several feet away. Rummler grabs his face and falls to the ground. An officer grabs Rummler by the shirt and drags him backward across the ground, the video shows. His face is bloody, and other demonstrators shout, “Leave him alone.” Officers take Rummler into the federal building, and later video appears to show him face down on the ground being handcuffed.
Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Tricia McLaughlin called the group “violent rioters” and said two officers were injured in the altercations, according to the report. Two protesters were arrested and are facing charges for assault on a federal officer and disorderly conduct, McLaughlin said.
DHS reportedly did not answer questions about what kind of projectiles were fired, although one protester told the outlet they were pepper balls.
Rummler’s aunt Jeri Rees told the outlet her nephew, who is a college student, is blinded in his left eye. He reportedly went to the hospital for two days and went through six hours of surgery on his eye, per the report.
“He’s completely blind” in that eye, she said. “There’s a hole in his eyeball.”
Rees said he was released from the hospital on Tuesday and that doctors are working to figure out what the fragments are made of to decide whether additional surgeries are needed. Rees said he also suffered skull fractures when his eye was hit.
Rees told the outlet Rummler was cited for disorderly conduct.
“I will never see through my left eye again, not even light,” Rummler said in a statement read by another protester on Tuesday. “I’m just glad I’m alive to tell my story.”
The AP said it “was not immediately possible to independently confirm details of the injuries.”