Just after 8:00 in the morning, while I was still in my pajamas, I heard crashing and men screaming outside my bedroom window. My daughter ran in, terrified, telling me there were men with guns surrounding our house. Masked men, unmarked vehicles spilling into the street, tactical rifles, and an armored vehicle that looked like it belonged in a war zone. While my kids hid in a safe room we had practiced using but I never believed they would need, I went outside and asked the only question that mattered: what department are you with? I was ignored, again and again, until one of them finally answered almost casually. “HSI.” They were ICE. And even as relief should have come, it didn’t, because while my children were safe, someone else’s loved one was being taken from our street, and for that family, this was only the beginning.
What I watched next I don’t think I will ever forget. An older man with no shoes, not resisting, not armed, was surrounded and taken away, his vehicle is still sitting in the driveway. I watched an agent remove what looked like a gold cross from around his neck and slip it into his own pocket like a souvenir. And as they left, knowing I was recording, they taunted me. One pointed two fingers from his eyes to mine. Another blew kisses. Another made a heart with his hands. Armed federal agents who had just terrified families and disappeared people into a system where people have died, driving away laughing. Underneath the intimidation was a complete absence of accountability. They knew they were being recorded and behaved that way anyway, like men certain there would be no consequences.
Accountability does not always arrive as fast as we want, but videos can last forever. They survive administrations, a GOP-controlled Congress, and every person in power who looks away, assuming this will be forgotten. It won’t be. There will come a day when the footage, the names, and the evidence become a record of this authoritarian takeover and everyone who participated in it. The masks will come off, but what they did while wearing them will remain, and it is our life’s work to make sure history remembers. Minutes before I stood on that sidewalk, the president was online calling journalists who accurately report on his war “treasonous SCUM,” because the one thing people on the wrong side of history have always feared most is a record of what they are actually doing. They wanted us to be afraid. I wasn’t. I was disgusted. Because fear is their weapon.
See the full story in the video.
We are living through a pivotal moment for our country, and my goal is to reach as many people as possible with clear, factual information about what is happening. The more people who understand what is unfolding, the better our chances of pushing back against chaos, cruelty, and corruption ahead of the midterms.
Thank you for your continued support. Your paid subscriptions have enabled me to add a video editor and reach more people.
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I’m fighting to save our country (before it’s too late).
I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather
This video is based on my written post, available HERE, and based on the events of 9-3-2026.
This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.
Sources:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/11/12/us/el-salvador-torture-of-venezuelan-deportees
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-deported-venezuelans-endured-at-cecot-60-minutes/
https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/07/immigration-raids-who/
https://theintercept.com/2026/01/28/ice-cbp-patches-guide-to-identifying-immigration-agents/
https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/this-deceptive-ice-tactic-violates-the-fourth-amendment
