Kaden Rummler, A 21-year-old protester was left permanently blind in one eye after a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent fired a less-lethal projectile at close range during an anti-ICE demonstration outside a federal building in Santa Ana, California, on January 9, 2026.
The incident, captured on bystander video, erupted as agents moved to arrest a local activist; the protester, holding a megaphone, rushed forward to intervene when struck in the face, fracturing his skull and embedding shrapnel near his carotid artery. He underwent six hours of surgery, with doctors leaving metal fragments due to risks, amid family claims agents delayed aid and mocked him. The rally protested ICE's fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis days earlier, amid nationwide unrest over deportations under the Trump administration.
DHS described protesters as a "mob" hurling rocks and fireworks, injuring two officers, while demonstrators and local police noted only cones thrown, calling the response excessive. A second man, Britain Rodriguez, reported similar blinding that night.
