Santa Ana, California — A protester was struck in the face by a projectile fired at point-blank range by a federal officer during a protest in Southern California, leaving him bloodied and seriously injured, according to video and accounts from fellow protesters and his family on Tuesday.
The rally Friday outside the federal immigration building in Santa Ana was in response to the shooting death of a man Rene Goode in Minneapolis By a federal agent, which sparked a wave of protests across the country.
Video showed hundreds of people marching through the streets of Santa Ana until a smaller group was left outside the federal building by evening chanting insults over loudspeakers about Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At one point, they burned what appeared to be an American flag on the building’s steps while chanting “Justice for Renee Judd.”
The demonstrators walked up to the square, where a group of police officers stood wearing riot gear and carrying crowd control equipment. At one point, officials forcibly push one protester down the stairs, and the group continues to chant while agents appear to urge them to back down. Later, an orange cone can be seen rolling onto the plaza, and officers begin firing munitions as they walk toward the crowd. It is not clear if cones were thrown and by whom.
The injured protester, identified by his aunt as 21-year-old Caden Rumler, was seen on video screaming into a megaphone with others outside the building, where several riot officers were stationed. The officers approached the crowd and then grabbed the arm of another protester, identified in a federal criminal complaint as Katelyn Skye Seitz, and pulled them to the stairs.
In response, Rumler and a few other protesters came forward, screaming. An officer fired a crowd control weapon, striking Rumler from several feet away. Rumler grabs his face and falls to the ground. The video shows one of the officers grabbing Rumler by his shirt and pulling him back to the ground. His face is covered in blood and other protesters shout “Leave him alone.” Officers take Rumler to the federal building, and a video later shows him lying on the ground in handcuffs.
Video of the incident was captured by OC Hawk, which films breaking news in Orange County.
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin described the group as violent rioters and said two officers were injured. She added that two demonstrators were arrested and charged with assaulting a federal officer and disorderly conduct. It did not respond to questions about the nature of the officers’ injuries or the demonstrator’s injury.
The US Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions about the type of projectiles fired, but another protester said on Tuesday they were pepper balls.
Rumler was blind in his left eye, according to his aunt, Jeri Reese.
Reese said her nephew, a college student, stayed in the hospital for two days and underwent a six-hour surgery on his left eye.
She said he was released from the hospital on Tuesday while doctors worked to identify the components of the fragments to assess whether additional procedures were needed to remove them. Reyes said he was shot in the left eye and suffered skull fractures.
“He’s completely blind” in that eye, she said. “There’s a hole in his eyeball.”
Reese said her nephew got a citation for disorderly conduct.
In a statement read by another protester on Tuesday, Rumler said he felt a buzzing and pressure around his skull and was dragged toward the building, bleeding, as he struggled to breathe.
“I will never see out of my left eye again, not even light,” he said in the statement. “I’m glad I’m alive to tell my story.”
It was not immediately possible to independently confirm the details of the injuries. His fellow protesters, from the “Dare to Struggle” group, refused to specify which hospital he was taken to.
Seitz, one of the arrested protesters, said the group was there to “rightfully protest the brutal execution of Renee Judd, and the government agencies that support ICE’s continued brutality.” Seitz identified himself at the press conference as Skye Jones.
A federal complaint alleges that Seitz failed to leave the property despite warnings and threw an orange cone at officers, then resisted arrest and struck an officer in the shoulder and groin. Details were not immediately available about the second set of charges, and the US Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to questions about them.
Additional video shows protesters still gathering and shouting at agents after the confrontation broke out. Some officers stand at the door of the building, and another protester approaches. Officers can be heard firing more shots. The protester turns back toward the group covered in white powder. He appears to have a cut on his face, and other protesters call for a paramedic.