Shocking Assault on ICE Agent Follows Violent Shooting with Child Witness
A Bronx man faces federal charges for allegedly assaulting an ICE agent during protests ignited by a controversial shooting where ICE agents wounded a man in a car with his child. The incident raises questions about law enforcement tactics and the community's response, with defense attorneys criticizing the lack of charges in the shooting itself.
A Bronx man, Liberty Martin, 42, has been charged with assaulting a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent, an incident that occurred in the aftermath of a controversial shooting by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Marble Hill. The alleged assault took place around 6:45 p.m. on October 8, when a crowd surrounded the federal agent "following an incident between federal law enforcement officers and an individual in the Bronx," according to a release from the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald's office.
Earlier that same day, at approximately 4 p.m., ICE agents shot and wounded Oscar Belgal, 28, of the Bronx, as they attempted to arrest him in Marble Hill, an area bordering the Bronx and Manhattan. Newsday reported that Belgal was in a car with his 5-year-old child when agents fired into the vehicle. Homeland Security officials had targeted Belgal, a Dominican national, due to his "associations to the Trinitarios gang," which they linked to the brutal killing of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. Marcos Charles, executive associate director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, stated that Belgal had previously evaded law enforcement attempts to arrest him in September.
The shooting incident quickly sparked protests in the evening of October 8 and continued into the following day. During one such protest, Martin allegedly engaged in the assault on the HSI Special Agent. He is accused of grabbing and ripping the agent's clothing, then following him to his department-issued vehicle and again grabbing his clothing. The U.S. attorney's statement further detailed that other members of the crowd "then further assaulted [the agent] by pushing him against his vehicle, grabbing his clothing, shoving his head and body into the vehicle, and slamming the vehicle door on him, causing a two-inch laceration to [his] forehead."
Ariel Werner, Martin’s defense attorney, confirmed his client was among the protesters. Werner issued a statement to Newsday, asserting, "On Oct. 8, ICE officers shot an unarmed man in the car with his five-year-old son. No one has been charged with any crime for that shooting. Instead, the government has charged Liberty Martin with allegedly ripping an ICE agent's shirt during protests related to the shooting. This shows that the federal government's priority is protecting ICE, not the community." Conversely, HSI Special Agent in Charge Pete Gizas condemned Martin's actions, stating they "recklessly endangered the special agents on scene and the public they were sworn to protect," calling it "a direct attack on the rule of law and the safety of our community."
Liberty Martin was arrested and charged with physically assaulting an employee of the United States. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 8 years in federal prison. Meanwhile, Oscar Belgal appeared in federal immigration court on October 15, still with a bullet lodged in his neck, as reported by The Associated Press. He is scheduled to return to court on October 29.