AUSTIN, Texas — Protesters who say they were arrested after demonstrating against the ICE shooting of a man in North Austin rallied Monday morning outside the Travis County Courthouse, accusing state authorities of targeting people who took part in the protests.
On Sept. 20, ICE officers stopped Wilber Garcés Pérez in North Austin. Prosecutors allege Garcés Pérez struck an officer with his driver’s-side mirror as he drove away, and that officers followed him before an agent shot him. Protests have continued since.
Over the weekend, community members gathered to support Garcés Pérez, discuss his recovery and call for accountability.
Immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch spoke after that forum, saying:
“This case really highlights the violence that we see with ICE on the streets and the bad medical care that people get in immigration detention.””This is a lot of community members coming together, the Workers Defense Project, grassroots leadership, gathering people to talk through what we want to do for Wilber, talk about how he’s doing and also how we can hold our elected officials accountable.”
On Monday, Emilia Figueroa, who organizers said was at the courthouse for her own court appearance, said several people who protested after the shooting have since been arrested.
“The heat we are facing is because we did the right thing,” she said.
A woman who identified herself as Autumn said she was arrested Sept. 27 in Pearsall after protesting outside the detention center where Garcés Pérez was being held. She said she learned of a warrant only after officers stopped her at a gas station.
Organizers also read a statement from India Brookhouser, who said she was arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety on Sept. 29 and held four days in the Bell County Jail on a misdemeanor charge of participating in a riot, with bond set at $50,000. She questioned how authorities could quickly arrest protesters while the agent who shot Garcés Pérez has not been publicly identified or charged.
Federal prosecutors charged Garcés Pérez last week with assaulting, resisting, interfering with and impeding a federal officer.
His attorney said the bullet has been removed and Garcés Pérez is recovering but still in pain.