Federal agents searched four locations in Ventura County in an early morning raid activists say targeted VC Defensa, a volunteer group that documents immigration operations. Volunteer Leo Martinez alleges agents pointed guns at him and his mother and took phon
Around 3 a.m. Wednesday, Leo Martinez woke to the sound of federal agents outside his Ventura County home—about 35 of them, he said. He described a scene in which he and his mother were held at gunpoint for roughly two hours before they were allowed to leave.
When he later went to his shop, the volunteer meeting place for VC Defensa, he found the door broken down and the location searched.
In the early morning operation, federal agents searched four locations at about 3 a.m. Wednesday, including the home and business of Martinez, activists said. Martinez said agents pointed guns at him and his mother but made no arrests.
During the search, agents took cellphones and laptops, along with T-shirts and skateboard decks bearing the logo for VC Defensa, a volunteer-based group that has been documenting immigration raids and detentions in Ventura County.
“We have nothing to hide,” Martinez said in an interview. “If they had access to all of our messaging going back to the beginning, there’s nothing in there.”
At a news conference Wednesday. members of VC Defensa and their attorney. Reem Yassin. said they were weighing the possibility of legal action against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Their allegation: the raid was retaliatory and part of what they describe as an ongoing harassment campaign aimed at members for their work patrolling and monitoring immigration operations.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that search warrants were executed in relation to VC Defensa but did not answer questions about the investigation’s nature. A Homeland Security spokesperson said in an email that on May 13. Homeland Security Investigations “executed several search warrants on individuals associated with an anti-ICE organization.” The spokesperson said several members of the organization have been previously arrested for ambushing federal law enforcement and destruction of government property. The spokesperson added that several items were seized as part of the search warrants.
The spokesperson did not address whether the raids were done in retaliation for the group’s monitoring. The email said. “This remains an ongoing investigation.” It continued: “To protect its integrity. we are unable to provide additional details at this time.” The spokesperson also wrote. “Under President Trump. if you assault law enforcement officers. you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”.
Activists insist their monitoring is lawful. VC Defensa is known to record and monitor Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Ventura County and to publish images and videos of their operations. Martinez said the group follows the law.
He also described how, in his view, the federal attention has persisted for months. Martinez said he and other members of VC Defensa have been arrested and detained. including an incident in which federal agents were recorded on video appearing to ram his truck. Federal agents claimed he was the aggressor in that incident. but Martinez said neither he nor other members of the group have faced any charges tied to their work. Martinez said he has been arrested twice but faced no charges.
“We don’t do anything other than alert the community that ICE officers are there,” he said. “We have to adhere to the law because we know if we cross that line, even a fraction for a bit, we know they’ll crush us.”
During a news conference Thursday, VC Defensa members said the raid was part of a campaign of harassment that included members being followed home and prank calls on their hotline. “We will not stand by and let them continue to try to intimidate us,” said Lainy Yompian.
Yassin said federal agents refused to allow her access to members of the group during the searches, describing it as “Not only denied, but threatened with arrest.” She said agents told her to prove she was their attorney even though she and the group members told them so.
Despite the investigation, Martinez said VC Defensa intends to keep patrolling and monitoring immigration activity. “We keep moving forward,” he said. “We have a ton of patrolling still going on.”
A sequence of actions—nighttime searches with items seized. allegations of gunpoint detention. a refusal to explain the investigation’s scope. and a counter-claim that the group has been involved in violent conduct—has left the community watching closely at what happens next. For Martinez and other volunteers. the question now is simple and personal: whether their work documenting raids will be met with continued scrutiny or something closer to safety.
Ventura County VC Defensa immigration activists ICE Homeland Security Investigations search warrants Leo Martinez Reem Yassin Lainy Yompian raids surveillance