Latest news with #AdrianMartinez
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Tensions flare as agents arrest another U.S. citizen for interfering in immigration arrests
A 20-year-old Walmart employee, Adrian Martinez, was returning from break on Tuesday when he saw Border Patrol agents taking a worker cleaning the shopping center parking lot in Pico Rivera. He jumped out of the car and wheeled the man's trash can in front of the vehicle as other passersby gathered around the truck yelling, blaring their horns. Surveillance and spectator video captured at the scene and looped in social media feeds show an agent rushing Martinez and shoving him to the ground. He gets back up, there is more shoving, and he then exchanges angry words with a masked officer carrying a rifle, before other agents swarm him and push him back down, then drag him to their truck. 'What is he doing? He's a f— hard worker,' Martinez can be heard yelling as more agents arrive, some in plain clothes, shoving him and forcibly arresting him. L.A.'s top's prosecutor, Bill Essayli, posted on X that Martinez 'was arrested for an allegation of punching a border patrol agent in the face after he attempted to impede their immigration enforcement operation.' The alleged punch was not clear on video footage. A person can be heard shouting, 'He's a U.S. citizen, bro,' as the agents shove Martinez into the car. In the videos of the confrontation, an agent is seen and heard cocking a gun, as others tussle with Martinez. Martinez is one of a handful of American citizens whose arrests or detainments by immigration officers over the last two weeks have gained widespread attention. Earlier this month Essayli charged union leader David Huerta with conspiracy to impede an officer after an encounter at a raid in downtown Los Angeles. A pregnant woman in Torrance was held after she stood between agents and the car carrying her husband. And less than three miles from Tuesday's incident, in Montebello, Border Patrol agents last week arrested Javier Ramirez, a U.S. citizen who was working at a tow yard. They also detained and questioned another U.S. citizen, Brian Gavidia, pushing him up against a fence as they asked him what hospital he was born in. The confrontations have added to tensions in the largely Latino enclaves in Los Angeles County where federal agents are conducting most of the raids. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, has said that its officers are increasingly under threat while trying to enforce laws. Many in the community see it as a moral imperative to push back. Martinez's mom, Myra Villareal, said in some ways it didn't surprise her that her son tried to help. He often brings in stray animals that need a home. 'If someone gets hurt, he wants to be the first one there,' said his sister Samantha Villareal. 'I want justice for him,' his mom added. 'What happened to him is wrong. He didn't do anything wrong. I believed he was speaking up. Everybody has a right to speak. You know, freedom of speech.' She said she couldn't find Martinez for hours after his arrest. Around midnight, she finally confirmed he was being detained downtown. She talked to him Wednesday afternoon. In a statement to The Times, Customs and Border Protection said videos 'are missing critical moments and don't tell the whole story.' Border Patrol agents conducting 'roving patrols' were 'confronted by a hostile group that attempted to interfere with their duties' as they arrested an undocumented immigrant at the Lowe's store in the same plaza, the statement said. An agent was allegedly punched in the face and another agent was struck in the arm by a member of the group. The statement said the case against Martinez has been presented to the U.S. attorney's office for prosecution for impeding or assaulting a federal officer. No complaint was available as of Wednesday night. 'Agents and officers from DHS and partner agents continue to be confronted by hostile groups that interfere with their ability to perform their duties,' the statement read. 'This interference places those being arrested, the agents, and the community at risk. Interfering with federal law enforcement is a crime and a felony—citizen or not.' U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino, who has hundreds of his agents carrying out the sweeps in Southern California, doubled down. 'Once again, a false narrative is and was being pushed out on the arrest of a U.S. citizen in Pico Rivera, CA,' he posted on X. 'Don't take our word for it,' he said linking to Essayli's post. 'This subject just caught a federal case for assault on a federal agent. DON'T ASSAULT.' Oscar Preciado, who was at the scene and recorded video, pushed back on the allegations, saying that, 'they're trying to spin this and make it seem like [Martinez] was the aggressor when they were the aggressors the whole time.' In the Montebello raid, Ramirez was charged in a federal criminal complaint with assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer. Authorities allege that he was trying to conceal himself and then ran toward the exit of the tow yard and refused to answer questions about his identity and citizenship. They also allege he pushed and bit an agent. His attorney, Tomas De Jesus, has denied the allegations, stating that Ramirez 'is the victim, not the aggressor.' Officials in the targeted cities are raising flags about agents' tactics. Montebello Mayor Salvador Melendez said he'd watched the video of another U.S. citizen being questioned and called the situation 'extremely frustrating.' 'It just seems like there's no due process,' he said. 'They're going for a specific look, which is a look of our Latino community, our immigrant community. They're asking questions after. ... This is not the country that we all know it to be, where folks have individual rights and protections.' Rep. Linda T. Sánchez (D-Whittier), who represents the area, on Wednesday sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi and the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, saying she had 'grave concern regarding the arrest and detention' of Martinez. She said the incident appears to have violated civil rights laws. 'I am deeply troubled that a U.S. citizen, who supports his family by working at Walmart, and is, by all accounts, an upstanding member of his community, continues to be detained by the federal government,' she wrote. She demanded they provide planning documents and any warrants and that they review the agencies and personnel involved in the 'violent arrest and unconstitutional detention of Mr. Hernandez.' Pico Rivera City Manager Steve Carmona said in a statement Tuesday: 'We are increasingly concerned about the nature and tone of these recent actions. Reports of heightened enforcement tactics, warrantless stops, and operations that appear to target specific communities raise serious concerns about proportionality, fairness, and due process.' The videos have sparked outrage and underscored an increasing agitation on both sides. Immigrant advocates are chasing agents from neighborhood to neighborhood. Apps have popped up. Neighbors on Nextdoor and Ring blare warnings of raids. And crowds and live streamers gather when they spot unannounced immigration operation on the streets. On Tuesday night, dozens, including Martinez's friends, gathered in Pico Rivera to protest the immigration actions. They chanted 'ICE out of Pico' and waved Mexican and American flags. Preciado, a 33-year-old Instacart worker, shot video of the scuffle in the parking lot on Tuesday morning. He ran toward the scene after seeing a commotion with three Border Patrol trucks and three unmarked vehicles. In his video, Preciado questions and curses the agents as other arrive and jump out of unmarked trucks with rifles. 'You can hear one of the guys cock the gun ... and he was pointing it at us, telling us to get away,' Preciado recounted. By then, several masked agents with guns — some with camouflage, several in plain clothes — had taken custody of Vivaldo Montes Herrera, the man Martinez had tried to defend. Montes Herrera has lived in the U.S. for 27 years, according to his wife. Preciado said agents grabbed him as well, with one putting his hand around his neck. 'That's when I told him, I'm a U.S. citizen and I'm exercising my rights to record,' Preciado said. 'That's when the guy swatted the phone from my hand.' A video shows his phone being knocked to the ground. Preciado said his screen protector shattered from the impact. He said soon after, four or five people tackled Martinez to the ground. 'The guy weighs like 100 pounds, maybe. He doesn't need five people trying to tackle him and doing all this stuff to him,' Preciado said. 'You can see them twisting his arm, grabbing him by the neck, getting on top of him. 'This is not normal. This is not something that should be normal at all,' he said. 'These guys are armed and dressed as if they're going to war, on U.S. citizens, on people just trying to get by and work.' On Wednesday, Montes Herrera's wife, Claudia Mejia, said she still didn't know where her husband is being held. He had been able to call her briefly after his arrest. 'Me agarro migracion,' he told her, asking her to take good care of their nearly 2-year-old daughter. Normally, when he returned home to South L.A. from his shift around 3 p.m., his daughter waited excitedly to greet him at the door. He never arrived. On Wednesday, the girl wailed in the background as Mejia described her husband as a hard worker 'dedicated to his job and our home.' A doting father, her husband was often the one to put the baby to bed. With him gone, his wife said she's placed one of his shirts on the baby's pillow so the little girl could fall asleep with a piece of him. 'So she knows her father is there,' Mejia said. 'Tell me, what did he do that was so bad or so damaging for them to take him like they did.'
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
L.A. County family says immigration agents detained son who is a U.S. citizen
Hundreds in a Los Angeles County neighborhood took to the streets to protest after immigration agents detained a 20-year-old outside a Pico Rivera Walmart on Tuesday. The young man who was wrestled to the ground, Adrian Andrew Martinez, is a U.S. citizen, according to his family. A video of the incident shows Martinez, in a blue Walmart vest, appearing to talk to the Customs and Border Patrol agents before one of them pushed him back. In the middle of the exchange, the man who was recording, Oscar Preciado, had his phone knocked out of his hand. After picking it up to start recording again, Preciado captured the federal agents wrestling Martinez to the ground. Preciado said the agents tried to grab him, too. "He grabbed me by the neck and put the other hand behind my leg," Preciado said. "Luckily, I was able to get him off of me and kept recording ... I told him I'm recording this and that's when he smacked my hand to get my phone out of my hand." According to Preciado, the encounter with immigration agents happened in a Walmart parking lot on Washington Boulevard after Martinez stood up for an older man federal agents had detained. Martinez insisted they needed a warrant to arrest the man. Preciado added that he only saw Martinez talking to the agents. Preciado works for a delivery service and talks to Martinez every day while picking up orders at Walmart. He recalled a crowd shouting, "he's a U.S. citizen," while agents arrested Martinez. "They kept trying to get us back away when they realized there was like 10 of us that were recording," Preciado said. "Some other guys from an unmarked vehicle came out of it with their guns in their hands, pointing at us and everything." Martinez's family said they don't know where federal agents took the 20-year-old. They went to a federal detention center and were told he was not there, but that he is likely going to be charged with assaulting a federal officer. KCAL News has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Walmart for comment, but has not received responses.
Associated Press
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Gutierrez and the Chicago Fire visit New York City FC
Chicago Fire (5-4-4, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York City FC (6-5-3, sixth in the Eastern Conference) The Bronx, New York; Sunday, 3 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: NYCFC -103, Chicago +237, Draw +275; over/under is 2.5 goals BOTTOM LINE: Brian Gutierrez leads the Chicago Fire into a matchup with New York City FC after scoring two goals against Charlotte FC. NYCFC is 6-3-3 against Eastern Conference opponents. NYCFC ranks 10th in the Eastern Conference with 15 goals led by Adrian Alonso Martinez Batista with seven. The Fire are 3-3-4 against Eastern Conference teams. Hugo Cuypers leads the sixth-ranked scoring team in the MLS with eight goals. The Fire have scored 24. The teams meet Sunday for the first time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Martinez Batista has scored seven goals with one assist for NYCFC. Hannes Wolf has two goals over the last 10 games. Cuypers has eight goals and one assist for the Fire. Philip Zinckernagel has four goals and three assists over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: NYCFC: 4-4-2, averaging 0.9 goals, 3.6 shots on goal and 5.0 corner kicks per game while allowing 0.9 goals per game. Fire: 4-3-3, averaging 1.7 goals, 5.6 shots on goal and 4.8 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.7 goals per game. NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY: NYCFC: Malachi Jones (injured), Kevin O'Toole (injured), Keaton Parks (injured). Fire: Leonardo Barroso (injured), David Poreba (injured), Chase Gasper (injured), Carlos Teran (injured), Chris Mueller (injured). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
USA Today
29-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Tracking former Nebraska Cornhuskers on UFL rosters entering 2025 spring football season
The 2025 United Football League season began on Friday when the St. Louis Battlehawks defeated the Houston Roughnecks 31-6. Seven former Huskers across six teams are looking to extend their professional football careers with the spring league. This will be the second season for the UFL, which was created after the XFL and USFL merged into one spring football league. The two former leagues now form the names of the league's two conferences. The USFL includes the Birmingham Stallions, Houston Roughnecks, Memphis Showboats, and Michigan Panthers, while the XFL includes the Arlington Renegades, DC Defenders, San Antonio Brahmas, and St. Louis Battlehawks. Last season, the Birmingham Stallions defeated the San Antonio Brahmas 25-0 in the inaugural United Football League Championship Game. Former Husker quarterback Adrian Martinez was the inaugural league MVP, as well as the MVP of the UFL title game. Martinez is now a quarterback with the New York Jets. Find a list of every former Nebraska football player on a UFL roster by scrolling below. Matt Farniok - Arlington Renegades Position: Center Playing Career: At Nebraska from 2016 to 2020 NFL Draft: 2021: 7th round, 238th pick Carlos Davis - Birmingham Stallions Position: Nose Tackle Playing Career: At Nebraska from 2015 to 2019 NFL Draft: 2020: 7th round, 232nd pick Marco Ortiz - Houston Roughnecks Position: Long Snapper Playing Career: At Nebraska for only 2023 NFL Draft: Undrafted 2024 Jordan Ober - Michigan Panthers Position: Long Snapper Playing Career: At Nebraska 2015 to 2018 NFL Draft: Undrafted 2019 Garrett Nelson - San Antonio Brahmas Position: Defensive End Playing Career: At Nebraska from 2019 to 2022 NFL Draft: Undrafted 2023 Chris Payton-Jones - St. Louis Battlehawks Position: Cornerback Playing Career: At Nebraska from 2014 to 2017 NFL Draft: Undrafted 2018 Freedom Akinmoladun - St. Louis Battlehawks Position: Defensive End Playing Career: At Nebraska from 2015 to 2018 NFL Draft: Undrafted 2019
Reuters
09-02-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Racing rise to second after 2-0 win over Boca Juniors
BUENOS AIRES, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Luciano Vietto's early strike and Adrian Martinez's late header gave Racing Club a 2-0 home win over Boca Juniors in the Apertura tournament of the Argentine Primera Division on Saturday. Racing, who were eighth in the standings, bounced back from last week's 2-0 loss to Estudiantes, climbing to second in Group A on nine points. Boca languish in 11th place with five points after winning just one of their four games. Winger Santiago Solari received the ball in midfield after a quick, chaotic throw-in by Gaston Martirena. He then crossed it to forward Vietto, who slotted home from close range. Martinez sealed Racing's win in the 87th minute. Unmarked in the box, he headed in a rebound after Boca goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin had denied Maximiliano Salas' effort.
