US citizen activist rammed by ICE agent, detained after false arrest claims
Oct 16, 2025·Location: Oxnard, CA

On October 16, 2025, Leonardo Martinez, a US citizen volunteer with VC Defensa immigrant rights group, was monitoring ICE enforcement activity in Oxnard, California when federal immigration agents in an unmarked SUV rammed his pickup truck, injuring him. Agents then falsely told dispatchers and investigating officers that Martinez had hit them. Body camera footage from Oxnard Police and witness videos contradicted the federal agents' accounts. Martinez was arrested and taken to Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, where he was detained but released the same day. He was informed he faced charges but has not been formally charged in any jurisdiction.
Timeline
Sources
- Video shows federal agent ramming immigration activist
- Undeterred by ICE Attack, US Citizen Activist Defends Community
risingupwithsonali.com·Oct 23, 2025·archived copy
- Federal agents detain immigrant rights group volunteers in Ventura County Wednesday morning
KEYT·May 13, 2026·archived copy
- Police body cameras capture federal agents fabricating attack by local activist in October
KEYT·Feb 13, 2026·archived copy
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