OAKLAND, Calif. (RNS) — For the second time in six weeks, a pastor was struck in the head with a pepper round fired by a U.S. immigration agent as faith leaders protested the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.
The pastor, the Rev. Jorge Bautista, was one of dozens of demonstrators who had gathered before sunrise Thursday (Oct. 23) at the entrance of the narrow bridge to Coast Guard Island, a military base near Oakland, where more than 100 U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents were supposed to arrive and stage that day. Organized by the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, the demonstrators crowded the intersection, peacefully blocking entry to the base, while singing anthems like “We Shall Not Be Moved” in English and Spanish.
Federal law enforcement vehicles arrived at the bridge after 7 a.m., and immigration agents began pushing their cars through and fired what were reported to be stun grenades into the crowd. Soon after, Bautista was struck in the face with a pepper round. Matthew Leber, hired as security by the interfaith group, also had his foot run over by a vehicle.
The clash comes as the Trump administration seemed to initiate its long-threatened immigration crackdown in the Bay Area, althoug …