The two Fresno men have been accused of performing social media stunts, posing as US immigrants and customs enforcement agents, harassing local businesses weeks after an actual ice attack in Central Valley turned the area’s undocumented community.
According to the Fresno Police Department, the two wore wigs and black tactical vests in intentionally covered letters, so they read “police” and “ice” and reportedly faced community members at 11 businesses. At one store, they told employees they were conducting an investigation and asked them to view certain business documents, police said.
The two men who police said they harassed the Fresno company were wearing black vests covered in several letters.
(Fresno Police Station)
Police arrested the man on Wednesday on suspicion of impersonating a police officer, a misdemeanor. They were quoted and later released.
“Their actions were simply to draw attention to their personal social media pages, so we will not publish their names or other information,” the department said.
The department began receiving numerous calls Wednesday mornings, learning about social media stunts and complaining of harassment. Officers then spotted the suspect wearing a fake vest outside of the River Park Shopping Center business.
The false interrogation of men comes shortly after several recent ice operations in California, following President Trump’s pledge to carry out the biggest deportation effort in US history.
In January, ice officials conducted a three-day raid in rural areas of Kern County, resulting in undocumented farm workers’ score detention and deportation. Undercover operations have also been reported recently in Madera and San Jose.
The social media stunt for Fresno is two weeks after it was revealed that YouTube pranks had seized a government efficiency worker and separated himself from his own fake assault on San Francisco City Hall. On February 14, the man roamed the Doge T-shirt building, telling workers that he would audit computer systems, seeking sensitive data, and calling the work of one employee a “silly list.”
Comedian Danny Mullen posted a video of his encounter on YouTube. The San Francisco Police Department is investigating the case to determine whether the Impesizer violated the law.
Last June, the Anaheim Police Department arrested two men on suspicion of impersonating ice agents for much more sinister purposes in order to steal Latinx residents.
According to the victim’s testimony, the two ice spoofers spoke to the residents in Spanish, showing them a fake badge and then solidified their money from them before leaving the car.
At the time, Sergeant Anaheim. John McClintock said he knows at least five identical thefts that took place in Anaheim and what happened across Orange County.
In 2018, a Santa Ana man was sentenced to eight months in prison after dressing ice officials to force a woman for $5,000 under the threat of deportation.
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