Anti-ICE protester says he was blinded by projectile fired by federal agent

A protester was struck in the face with a projectile fired by a federal officer at close range during a Southern California protest, leaving him seriously injured, according to video and an account from fellow protesters during a Tuesday news conference.

The Friday protest outside the federal immigration building in the city of Santa Ana was held in response to the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis, which sparked protests nationwide.

Hundreds of people had marched in the streets of Santa Ana until a smaller group was left outside the federal building by evening, shouting expletives and burning what appeared to be an American flag while shouting “Justice for Renee Good.”

The demonstrators moved onto the plaza, where a small number of agents in riot gear were stationed with crowd-control equipment. At one point, officers forcibly pushed a protester back down the steps while the group continued chanting, seemingly ignoring the agents’ commands to retreat. Later, an orange traffic cone rolled onto the plaza, and officers began firing crowd-control munitions as they advanced toward the crowd. It remains unclear whether the cone was thrown or how it got there.

open image in gallery

The injured demonstrator, identified as 21-year-old Kaden Rummler by his aunt, is seen on video shouting through a megaphone along with others outside the building, where several officers are stationed in riot gear. The officers approached the crowd, then grabbed another demonstrator by the arm, identified in a federal criminal complaint as Katelyn Skye Seitz, pulling them onto the steps.

In response, Rummler and a few other demonstrators step forward, shouting. One of the officers fires a crowd-control weapon, striking him 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 Rummlerinto the federal building, and later video appears to show him face down on the ground being handcuffed.

Video of the incident was taken by OC Hawk, which films breaking news in Orange County.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, called the group violent rioters and said that two officers were injured. Two protesters were arrested and charged with assault on a federal officer and disorderly conduct, she said. She did not respond to questions about the nature of the officers’ injuries or the injury of the protester.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security didn't answer questions about what type of projectiles were fired, but another protester said Tuesday they were pepper balls.

Rummler was blinded in his left eye, according to his aunt, Jeri Rees.

Rees said her nephew, a 21-year-old college student, was in the hospital for two days and underwent six hours of surgery on his left eye.

She said he was released from the hospital on Tuesday while doctors work to determine what the fragments are made of to assess whether additional procedures are needed to remove them. Rees said he was hit in the left eye and suffered skull fractures.

“He’s completely blind” in that eye, she said. “There’s a hole in his eyeball.”

Rees said her nephew was given a citation for disorderly conduct.

In a statement read by another protester on Tuesday, Rummler said he felt ringing and pressure around his skull and was dragged toward the building bleeding while struggling to breathe.

“I will never see through my left eye again, not even light,” he said in the statement. “I’m just glad I’m alive to tell my story.”

It was not immediately possible to independently confirm details of the injuries. The fellow protesters, from the group Dare to Struggle, declined to say what hospital he had been taken to.

Seitz, one of the arrested protesters, said the group was there to “rightly protest the brutal execution of Renee Good, and the government agencies that uphold ICE’s ongoing brutality.” Seitz identified themselves at the news conference as Skye Jones.

A federal complaint alleges Seitz failed to leave the property despite warnings and threw an orange cone at officers, then resisted arrest and struck an officer on the shoulder and in the groin. Details weren't immediately available about the second set of charges filed, and the U.S. Attorney's Office didn't immediately respond to questions about them.

Additional video shows demonstrators still gathered and shouting at agents after the confrontation breaks out. Some officers are standing at the door to the building, and another demonstrator approaches. Officers can be heard firing more rounds. The protester walks back toward the group covered in a white powder. He appears to have a cut on his face, and other demonstrators call for a medic.