ICE agents detained two American citizens near a City Heights grocery store Tuesday, witnesses say, in dramatic encounters captured on video. The agency later said the two women were “agitators attempting to impede operations,” though they were released hours later without charges. The incide nt unfolded just before 12 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of the El Super grocery store off Fairmount and University. Witnesses said it began with federal agents detaining a man who was released a short time later. Community patrollers said when the man was released, he told them the agents let him go because he had legal status. Those community patrollers, who document federal agents and warn communities across San Diego about their presence, arrived on the scene and one woman said she got out of her vehicle and started recording. “Within 14 seconds of me starting recording,” Brooke Benner said, “they had detained me and put me in handcuffs.” In Benner’s video, an ICE agent can be seen directing her to leave as she approaches. “Don’t tell me what to do, you don’t own this parking lot,” Benner says, “What are you going to do, arrest me? You can’t arrest me.” “Yes, I will arrest you,” the agent responds. “You will? For what?” Benner replies, screaming profanity at him as he says, “Impeding.” He and another agent then approach her and she screams, “I’m not impeding,” as they grab her and handcuff her. One agent can be heard saying in the scuffle, “You’re going to jail. That’s it.” Benner said she was then placed in a van. “The first thing that went through my mind is: I was happy it wasn’t a bullet, because I know that other people have met that fate,” Benner said Wednesday. A few minutes after Benner’s arrest, agents detained another woman just steps away. It’s not captured on video, but witnesses said she kicked a federal vehicle. Community patrollers walked up recording as two agents held her against a car trying to handcuff her. Two others stood between them and the upset crowd. One of the agents then pulls the woman away from the car and tackles her to the ground. The onlookers yell and an agent yells back, “You’re going to jail too, back up.” One of the agents, wearing a camouflage face covering, can be seen pointing a taser at the community patrollers, who continue to scream obscenities at them. Shortly thereafter, the agents put the second woman into a car, get into their vehicles, and drive away. Benner said she and the other woman were taken to the federal building downtown and held in the basement for about seven hours before they were eventually released without charges. When asked about the incident, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement, “ICE arrested two agitators attempting to impede operations in the City Heights area of San Diego, California. Upon interviewing them, officers released these individuals.” “Obstructing federal law enforcement is not only dangerous but also a crime and a felony,” the statement continued. “Violence against ICE officers, or any law enforcement personnel, will not be tolerated. Our officers carry out their Congressionally mandated duties in service to public safety and the rule of law. Any bystander or individual who assaults, obstructs, or violently attacks officers will be subject to arrest and prosecution permitted by law.” “They just wanted to attack me because I was saying things that hurt their feelings, which is not how a federal agent should be behaving,” Benner said Wednesday. Their arrests came as City Heights has seen increased enforcement in recent weeks. “There’s definitely an uptick in ICE activity here,” said Mea Marie, who’s part of the City Heights Defense Committee, a community organization that does mutual aid, rapid response and “know your rights” education. “We’ve noticed more surveillance vehicles in and around the community, and especially around the schools.” Enforcement near schools has sparked outrage, including the arrests of two Haitian parents near John Marshall Elementary School on Sept. 9. Those arrests were also captured on video, as was the arrest of another man in front of Hamilton Elementary School on Monday. “There were NO targeted operations at or nearby this elementary school,” DHS said in a statement on that arrest. “ICE does not target schools. This is just another false narrative to try and demonize our brave ICE law enforcement.” Operations like these prompted City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera to organize a rally and march in City Heights Wednesday night. City leaders including Mayor Todd Gloria and several other councilmembers attended, as did leaders of several community organizations. Two Haitian pastors also spoke, as Haitians have seen increased enforcement in recent weeks after losing Temporary Protected Status. Hundreds of people gathered near the El Super for the rally, shutting down the intersection, then marched to Euclid Elementary School nearby, where San Diego Unified School District’s board president condemned enforcement near schools. “There’s a lot of people out here who are just hard-working members of the community, and they’re afraid to go to work. They’re afraid to go grocery shopping,” Marie said. Benner said as she sat in the holding cell in the basement of the federal building, she noticed etchings on the wall of people who had been there before. “I just thought about all the people who aren’t going to get to go home,” Benner said. “I got detained, but because I’m a U.S. citizen, I got to leave.” Still, Benner said the experience was scary. “They had asked me if I had any children,” Benner said, wiping away tears. “And when they asked me for my daughter’s name, I cried, because I’m risking a lot.” But she and other community patrollers said they’ll continue to tail ICE. “I don’t know how to convince people to see people for people,” Marie said. “Your actions are going to be the only thing that you take with you on the other side.” ...read more read less