SPOKANE, Wash. – Protests erupted outside the Spokane County Courthouse in response to the arrest of Spokane resident Martin Diaz by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Diaz was taken into custody in April, and demonstrators are demanding his release.
Protesters gathered at the courthouse today, expressing their discontent with ICE’s actions.
“And we will fight for every person they try to take away from their home,” one protester said.
Organizers of the protest allege that Diaz was assaulted and detained by Border Patrol in his own yard without a warrant on April 29. Diaz, who has lived in the U.S. since he was a toddler and is married to a U.S. citizen, now faces charges of assaulting a federal officer.
This protest is part of a larger pattern of public ICE arrests in Spokane. .
“I really hope that people will wake up and understand what’s actually happening,” Kendall Diaz, Martin’s wife said. “I think that a lot of people are ignorant right now and it’s super scary out there, things. You know people are going missing, it’s not just my husband. And I know where he is. What about the family members that don’t know where their family member is?”
The protest began around 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
