A grandmother planning to document Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests at the San Diego courthouse instead became herself the story on Tuesday, after video of her arrest began circulating online.
The 71-year-old woman, U.S. citizen Barbara Stone, was accused of pushing an ICE agent and was placed in custody for several hours. Stone denied the allegation to NBC 7 on Wednesday.
Stone was handcuffed and held by federal agents for eight hours, according to her family.
“I have a large bruise there,” Stone said on Wednesday. “I feel mentally and physically traumatized.”
A video of the incident shared with NBC 7 shows the moment tensions started to boil over.
NBC 7 made several attempts to contact ICE about the incident but was referred to the Federal Protective Service, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. FPS has not responded to a request for comment.
NBC 7 spoke with Stone’s husband, Gershon Shafir, the day his wife was detained.
“She is a soft-spoken person who was here to protect innocent refugees, and she is the last person in the universe who would hit an agent or interfere with their work,” Shafir said.
Stone was at the court to observe proceedings, which is legal and a First Amendment right, according to Ruth Mendez of the organization Detention Resistance.
“The fear is very, very real here,” Mendez said, “and the volunteers that are showing up today are now coming, knowing that there might be a risk of our own detention.”
No charges have been pressed against Stone, but her family said her phone was confiscated.
Mendez worries that the incident will have an invisible impact — like people deciding not to volunteer. In the video, an officer can be heard suggesting that more people could get detained.
“The message that it sent was very clear: For us to be afraid to come back and do the work that we’re doing,” Mendez said, adding that “all Americans should know that this is how their taxpayer money is being spent, and that it is really a crying shame. The people who are actually suffering are the people who are seeking asylum.”
Stone, however, said she would volunteer again.
