A U.S. Border Patrol official says a "false narrative" is being pushed in connection with the arrest of a 20-year-old American citizen in Pico Rivera.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X Wednesday that Adrian Andrew Martinez was “arrested for an allegation of punching a border patrol agent in the face after he attempted to impede their immigration enforcement operation.”
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USBP Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino shared Essayli’s post, writing, “Once again, a false narrative is and was being pushed out on the arrest of a U.S. citizen in Pico Rivera, CA.”
“This subject just caught a federal case for assault on a federal agent,” the post concluded. “DON'T ASSAULT.”
It comes following public outrage after a video posted by Oscar Preciado on Instagram showed Martinez being tackled and detained by federal agents outside a Walmart on Washington Blvd.
Preciado told KCAL News that Martinez was trying to intervene as federal agents were arresting another guy.
Defense attorney and legal analyst Lou Shapiro told KNX News that more video of this incident will probably come in soon, which will clarify what exactly happened.
“What we're seeing in many of these incidents, the temperature is turned too high,” he said. “Emotions are high, people are very upset, and the slightest movement, that someone feels as a threat or physical violence that being imminent, could trigger something larger, and that very well could have been the case here.”
Shapiro said if you're going to protest at an immigration enforcement site, stay away from the agents, don't threaten them, and avoid profanity so things don't escalate.
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