(Source: KGW) – A blind man from Hillsboro, Oregon says he was violently arrested — twice — by federal agents outside a Portland ICE facility in what he describes as a terrifying and traumatic case of mistaken identity. Both incidents were caught on video and have since sparked outrage online and among civil rights advocates.
Quinn Haberl, 4’6” and legally blind, told reporters he went to peacefully protest what he calls a “brutal immigration system.” But instead of exercising his right to demonstrate, Haberl said he ended up dragged, handcuffed, and hospitalized — twice.
“I’m only 4’6 and I can’t see. What harm was I going to do to them?” Haberl said in an emotional interview with KGW. “It was scary. Being dragged across the ground when you can’t see what’s happening around you.”
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A Peaceful Protest Turns Violent
The first incident occurred on a Tuesday night. Haberl said he sat down in the driveway of the ICE facility — a symbolic gesture meant to peacefully disrupt vehicle movement. He was picked up and dropped by agents, but the second encounter, just days later, was far worse.
According to Haberl, he returned the following Saturday and was careful to stay mostly on the grass. He says only part of his legs extended into the driveway when a group of six agents descended on him, dragging him across the pavement.
“They grabbed me and started to drag me across the driveway on the ground,” Haberl said. “They put their foot or something on my back and some part of them on my neck.”
He said he was taken inside the ICE facility gates, handcuffed, and detained for roughly an hour. Medical staff later documented bruising on his shoulders, arms, and hands. Fortunately, his back and neck were found to be uninjured, but Haberl said the emotional trauma lingers.
“I was too emotional to speak as of Tuesday — too afraid even to leave my home,” he told local station KOIN in a phone interview.
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A Scene Witnesses Won’t Forget
Two bystanders, Sterling Anderson and another man who was filming, said witnessing the incident left them shaken.
“It was heartbreaking to see him being dragged the way he was,” one witness said. “I had to keep him in frame, and it just hurt my heart.”
“You can see in the video where I’m very vocal, and then you can see my breath — and my breath was taken away,” Anderson added. “What threat does that man represent to agents of the state or property?”
The video of the incident has since gone viral, with many on social media calling it “state-sponsored violence” and a disturbing abuse of power.
ICE Responds: “A Rioter”
In a statement to Nexstar’s KOIN, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security defended the agents’ actions, calling Haberl a “rioter” who “blatantly disobeyed law enforcement orders to remain off federal property, obstructed law enforcement, and continued to block the driveway so vehicles could not enter or exit the ICE facility.”
But critics say that characterization doesn’t match what’s seen in the videos — or in the statements of eyewitnesses. For many, it raises troubling questions about ICE’s use of force and protocols when dealing with vulnerable individuals, particularly those with disabilities.
A Community Rallies
Haberl has been charged with failure to comply, and his friends have since launched a GoFundMe to cover medical and legal costs. Civil rights groups in Oregon are calling for an immediate investigation into both arrests and for the charges to be dropped.
“They call Portland a war zone?” Haberl asked. “The only people that’s making it a war zone is ICE.”
Despite multiple inquiries, the Department of Homeland Security has not responded to further questions from KGW or KOIN. The FBI also declined to release updated arrest data, citing a change in reporting frequency.
Meanwhile, Haberl says he wants his story told — not for sympathy, but so others understand the fear and pain he experienced.
“We’ve got to ask what kind of country we are becoming,” said Anderson. “When a blind man sitting on the grass becomes a target for force like this — something is deeply broken.”
