Hagerstown Rapid Response condemns the violent attacks on peaceful protesters in Frederick on Friday night and the reckless, threatening behavior by ICE agents throughout the nearly two days they occupied a residential neighborhood. We are calling for an immediate, independent investigation into the actions of the ICE agents involved and into the failure of the Frederick Police Department to intervene while people were being assaulted in front of them.
What happened Friday did not begin when ICE agents started beating people. For nearly two days, federal agents camped out in a Frederick neighborhood, frightening and intimidating the people who lived there. Residents and witnesses documented ICE agents driving through the neighborhood and making threats, including telling people, “We see you, we know where you live, we have your license plate,” and, “We know where you live, we’re going to go to your house, we’re going to show up, we’re going to come arrest you.”
On Friday night, the situation escalated dramatically. ICE vehicles without license plates drove onto a public sidewalk toward witnesses and protesters, while agents ordered people to leave and threatened them with arrest. When ICE agents later approached the home they had been targeting, peaceful protesters linked arms in front of the property. ICE agents responded with violence. Video taken at the scene shows federal agents grabbing, shoving, striking, and beating protesters with batons. We also have video showing what appears to be an ICE agent pointing a gun at people laying on the ground after being beaten with batons.
Frederick police officers were there. As shown and heard in the video below, Frederick PD watched it happen while victims screamed in agony for their help and witnesses shamed them.
That cannot simply be brushed aside as a confrontation between ICE and protesters. Local police have a responsibility to protect people in their community. When federal agents are using force against people in front of local law enforcement, the public deserves to know what Frederick police officers were instructed to do, why they did not intervene, whether anyone requested their assistance, what communications occurred between Frederick PD and ICE before and during the incident, and whether Frederick PD believed federal agents were permitted to assault people without intervention simply because they carried federal badges.
Not only did Frederick PD fail to protect people who were being beaten or make any apparent effort to de-escalate the situation, video appears to show an officer arriving at the scene with two canisters of mace and handing one to another officer standing just feet from witnesses and people who had just been beaten. Given that Frederick PD had just stood by while ICE agents beat people with batons, it is difficult to believe that the mace was brought out to protect those witnesses or the already-injured victims from the people who had just attacked them. If Frederick PD was not prepared to use force to stop ICE from beating people, the obvious question is: Who exactly were they preparing to use that mace against?
We are calling for an immediate investigation into both agencies. The actions of the ICE agents involved must be investigated, including their use of force, threats against residents and protesters, operation of vehicles without visible license plates, conduct on the public sidewalk, and the legal authority under which they were attempting to approach or enter the targeted property. Frederick PD’s response must be investigated separately, including what officers witnessed, what orders they were given, what coordination occurred with ICE, and why officers stood by while people were being beaten.
We are also calling for an investigation into the incident when ICE drove vehicles, without license plates, onto the public sidewalks directly at witnesses, and threatened them with arrest while exercising their constitutional right.
There is extensive video of what happened Friday night. This is not a situation where the public has to rely solely on competing accounts of what occurred. People can watch it.
No federal badge should place someone above the law, and no local police department should get a pass for standing by while people in its community are being hurt. The people of Frederick deserve answers, accountability and an independent investigation into exactly what happened Friday night and why.
We also encourage everyone who is able to help the local families impacted by ICE who need our support now more than ever by donating to the Western Maryland Immigrant Rights Collective (WMD-IRC): https://linktr.ee/westernmdirc.
Please read and share Western Maryland IRC’s statement on what happened in Taskers Chance:
“The Western Maryland Immigrant Rights Collective (WMD-IRC) condemns the violence ICE perpetrated against the Taskers Chance community September 3–4, 2026. They targeted and terrorized our immigrant neighbors. We are also aggrieved that FPD turned their backs to the brutality of ICE against protesters. We condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms and reiterate our call to abolish ICE.”
Mayor Michael O'Connor of Frederick appointed the police chief, Kevin Meyer. Both of them should be fired.
Totally unacceptable