Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents conducted an operation targeting VC Defensa, including a prominent member, Leonardo Espartaco Martinez, in Ventura County on Wednesday night. The operation encompassed four locations and targeted three people. Martinez’s home and shop, and the homes of two other VC Defensa members were searched. Confiscated items included the organization's graphic t-shirts and three skateboards.
According to Reem Yassin, a lawyer representing VC Defensa, Wednesday’s raid was not the first time federal agents have targeted the immigrant empowerment organization and individuals linked to it. A coalition of lawyers is now preparing to file a federal restraining order against federal agents and agencies who have targeted VC Defensa.
”[T]here are pending lawsuits, currently, for what I like to call ‘attempted murder’ on Leo,” Yassin told L.A. TACO.
L.A. TACO reported on two incidents involving Martinez, both of which involved vehicle collisions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Most recently, an ICE agent rammed into Martinez’s vehicle on March 10, sending the legal observer to the hospital for allegedly interfering with an operation.
Yassin told L.A. TACO that there have been around 50 to 60 people who are members, activists, or volunteers with VC Defensa targeted by federal agents. She says they have been targeted by federal agencies through a combination of tactics like raids, searches, and seizures, including agents allegedly following people home and flashing their lights.