A disturbing video from Durango, Colorado, shows a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent forcibly grabbing a peaceful protester’s phone before dragging her by the hair, sparking outrage over the agency’s use of force.
The incident unfolded early Monday as community members gathered outside an ICE facility to protest the detention of a Colombian family seeking asylum.
In the viral footage, a masked ICE officer, wearing a vest labeled “police” but with no visible ICE identification, can be seen snatching a 57-year-old woman’s phone as she recorded the protest. When she tried to retrieve it, the agent grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the ground, witnesses said.
The woman, identified as Franci Stagi, told CBS News Colorado that she was filming when she asked the agent, “You’re a good Christian, right? What would Jesus do?” Moments later, she said, “he flipped out” and ripped her phone away.
“I had a knee-jerk reaction of going after my phone,” she said tearfully in an interview. “He grabbed me by the hair and lifted me off the ground in a chokehold. It’s still really blurry, but I’ve seen the video myself.”
Stagi said two other ICE agents joined in restraining her while dozens of community members looked on. Around 50 people were protesting that morning after ICE detained Fernando Jaramillo-Solano, a 45-year-old father who entered the U.S. unlawfully in December 2024.
Social media users condemned the incident, calling it a “brutal” and “un-American” display of aggression.
“Masked ICE brute—ripping phones, yanking hair, dragging women like animals. Trump’s stormtroopers in action,” one post read.
“This isn’t law enforcement. This is a bunch of thugs given guns and badges,” another wrote.
In a statement, ICE confirmed the father had been transferred to a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, but declined to comment on the children’s status. The agency defended its actions, criticizing demonstrators for blocking gates and “creating unnecessary risks.”
“Attempts to disrupt operations at the Durango sub-office only delay justice and jeopardize public safety,” an ICE spokesperson said.
Stagi, still shaken, said the assault exposed a deeper issue of unchecked power:
“If they’re doing this to me, what are they doing to the 11-year-old girl in detention? It’s horrible.”
Authorities have not announced any internal investigation into the agent’s conduct as outrage over the incident continues to grow.
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