American flag stolen, thrown to the ground by immigration protesters in front of Dallas police
An American flag was thrown to the ground during a standoff at a large protest in Dallas against President Donald Trump's deportation of criminal illegal immigrants.
In Trump’s first week back in office, the Department of Homeland Security reported deporting approximately 7,300 people of various nationalities, according to The Associated Press. The president is directing his administration to increase arrests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials from “a few hundred per day to at least 1,200 to 1,500,” The Washington Post reported.
Protesters gathered Sunday afternoon near Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in downtown Dallas to rally against the mass deportations, with several protesters flying Mexican and LGBT rainbow-colored flags and chanting anti-Trump slogans.
While there was a visible police presence, the protests were largely peaceful until a crowd of demonstrators, including one draped in a Mexican flag, approached a counter-protester who was flying an American flag along with a Trump flag. In one video, the demonstrators are seen pulling down the American flag and engaging in a tug-of-war with the owner until finally wrestling it out his grasp and fleeing the scene.
A police officer in the video is seen intervening by restraining another person from getting involved in the tussle over the flag. One of the demonstrators then takes the flag and hurls it toward the street. The officer comes back into the frame and picks up the flag from the ground.
CP reached out Tuesday to a Dallas police spokesperson. This story will be updated if a response is received.
Texas has signaled its willingness to cooperate with the Trump administration after Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to deploy tactical strike teams as part of a federal effort to find criminal illegal immigrants in the Lone Star State.
Arrest warrants have been issued for roughly 5,400 criminal aliens residing in Texas, according to the governor’s office.
“Texas is expanding our operations to assist President Donald Trump to protect Americans and enforce the rule of law,” said Abbott in a statement. “Today, I directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to deploy tactical strike teams to work alongside our federal partners to enforce immigration laws throughout the state. These teams will coordinate with Homeland Security agencies to track down the thousands of illegal immigrants with active warrants across Texas and deport them from our country.”
