US citizen dragged from car by immigration agents, viral video sparks outrage

A US citizen on her way to a medical appointment in Minneapolis was dragged out of her car and detained by immigration officers according to a statement released by the woman on Thursday after a video of her arrest drew millions of views on social mediaAliya Rahman said she was brought to a detention center where she was denied medical care and lost consciousness The Department of Homeland Security said she was an agitator who was obstructing ICE agents conducting arrests in the areaThat video is the latest in a deluge of online content that documents an intensifying immigration crackdown across the midwestern city as thousands of federal agents execute arrests amid protests in what local officials have likened to a federal invasionDragged from her carRahman said that she was on her way to a routine appointment at the Traumatic Brain Injury Center when she encountered federal immigration agents at an intersection Video appears to show federal immigration agents shouting commands over a cacophony of whistles car horns and screams from protestersIn the video one masked agent smashes Rahmans passenger side window while others cut her seatbelt and drag her out of the car through the drivers side door Numerous guards then carried her by her arms and legs towards an ICE vehicleIm disabled trying to go to the doctor up there thats why I didnt move Rahman said gesturing down the street as officers pulled her arms behind her backA spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security disputed that account in an emailed statement on Thursday saying that Rahman was an agitator who ignored multiple commands by an officer to move her vehicle away from the scene She was arrested along with six other people the department called agitators one of whom was accused of jumping on an officers back The department did not specify if Rahman was charged or respond to questions about her assertion that she was denied medical treatmentBarrage of viral videos draw scrutinyThe video of Rahmans arrest is one of many that have garnered millions of views in recent days and been scrutinized amid conflicting accounts from federal officials and civilian eyewitnessesOften whats in dispute pertains to what happened just before or just after a given recording But many contain common themes Protesters blowing whistles yelling or honking horns Immigration officers breaking vehicle windows using pepper spray on protesters and warning observers not to follow them through public spaces Immigrants and citizens alike forcibly pulled from cars stores or homes and detained for hours days or longerIn one video heavily armed immigration agents used a battering ram to break through the front door of Garrison Gibsons Minneapolis home where his wife and 9yearold child also were inside The video shot inside the home captures a womans voice asking Where is the warrant and Can you put the guns down There is kids in this houseAnother video shows ICE agents including Border Patrol Cmdr Gregory Bovino detain two employees at a Target store in Richfield Minnesota Both are US citizens who were later released according to social media posts from family membersMonica Bicking 40 was leaving the homeless shelter where she works as a nurse when she took a video that appears to show a federal agent kneeing a man at least five times in the face while several other agents pin him facedown on the pavement in south MinneapolisBicking works full time so she says she doesnt intentionally attend organised protests or confrontations with ICE But she has started to carry a whistle in case she encounters ICE agents on her way to work or while running errands which she says has become commonplace in recent weeksWere hypervigilant every time we leave our houses looking for ICE trying to protect our neighbors trying to support our neighbors who are now just on lockdown Bicking saidI thought I was going to dieRahman said in her statement that after her detainment she felt lucky to be alive Masked agents dragged me from my car and bound me like an animal even after I told them that I was disabled Rahman saidWhile in custody Rahman said she repeatedly asked for a doctor but was instead taken to the detention center It was not until I lost consciousness in my cell that I was finally taken to a hospital Rahman saidRahman was treated for injuries consistent with assault according to her counsel and has been released from the hospital She thanked the emergency department staff for their care They gave me hope when I thought I was going to dieThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever