Hundreds gathered for a protest outside a federal immigration building in Santa Ana, California, in the wake of the shooting death of Renee Good in Minneapolis by a federal agent, which has sparked protests across the country. On Tuesday evening, demonstrators marched in the streets before a smaller group remained outside the building, shouting through megaphones about Immigration and Customs Enforcement and calling for “Justice for Renee Good,” according to video and accounts from fellow protesters and family.
At the federal building, protesters moved onto a plaza where a handful of agents in riot gear held crowd-control equipment. The AP report described an escalation as officials forcefully moved a demonstrator back down onto the steps, after which protesters continued chanting as officers appeared to urge the crowd to move away. Later, an orange cone rolled onto the plaza and officers began firing munitions as they walked toward the crowd, though it was not clear from the account whether the cones were thrown and by whom.
Kaden Rummler, 21, was identified by his aunt, Jeri Rees. In video, Rummler appeared to be shouting through a megaphone with others outside the building while several officers were stationed in riot gear. The account says officers approached and grabbed another demonstrator by the arm—identified in a federal criminal complaint as Katelyn Skye Seitz—pulling them onto the steps, and that Rummler and other demonstrators stepped forward shouting as the confrontation unfolded.
According to the video and accounts, an officer fired a crowd-control weapon from several feet away, striking Rummler in the face. Rummler grabbed his face and fell to the ground, and officers then dragged him backward across the ground, the report said. Other demonstrators shouted “leave him alone,” and officers took Rummler into the federal building. Later video appeared to show Rummler face down on the ground as he was handcuffed.
Rees said Rummler was hospitalized for two days and underwent six hours of surgery on his left eye, then was released from the hospital on Tuesday while doctors assessed what fragments were made of to determine whether additional procedures were needed to remove them. She said Rummler was hit in the left eye, suffered skull fractures, and that “He’s completely blind” in that eye, adding that “There’s a hole in his eyeball.” The report also said Rees stated Rummler was given a citation for disorderly conduct.
In a statement read at a news conference by another protester, Rummler said he felt ringing and pressure around his skull and was dragged toward the building bleeding while struggling to breathe. In that statement, he said, “I will never see through my left eye again, not even light,” and added, “I’m just glad I’m alive to tell my story.” The AP report said it was not immediately possible to independently confirm details of Rummler’s injuries and that the fellow protesters from the group Dare to Struggle declined to say which hospital Rummler was taken to.
The Department of Homeland Security did not answer questions about what type of projectiles were fired. However, another protester said the projectiles were pepper balls. In addition to Rummler’s account, the report said that additional video showed demonstrators gathered and shouting at agents after the confrontation, with officers still firing more rounds; a protester walked back toward the group covered in white powder, with observers calling for a medic.
During the incident, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the group was violent and that two officers were injured. McLaughlin told reporters that two protesters were arrested and charged with assault on a federal officer and disorderly conduct, but the AP account said she did not respond to questions about the nature of the officers’ injuries or Rummler’s injury.
The report said Seitz—identified at the news conference as Skye Jones—told reporters that the group was there to “rightly protest the brutal execution of Renee Good, and the government agencies that uphold ICE’s ongoing brutality.” A federal complaint described Seitz as failing to leave the property despite warnings and throwing an orange cone at officers, and said Seitz resisted arrest and struck an officer on the shoulder and in the groin; details about a second set of charges were not immediately available, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to questions.