By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

Individuals rioting, doxxing and threatening U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and their families continue to be arrested and indicted.

Legal action is being taken in response to assaults against ICE officers increasing by 1,000% compared to the same time last year, ICE says. That’s up from a 413% increase in assaults against ICE agents June, The Center Square reported.

Violence is largely occurring in Democratic-controlled cities including in Los Angeles over the summer and more recently in Chicago, where rioters have thrown Molotov cocktails, rocks and other projectiles and hit or blocked in federal agents’ vehicles with their cars, The Center Square has reported. Others are attempting to identify ICE agents and their family members online by publicizing their names and addresses on social media and calling for violence to be committed against them, known as doxxing. Still others have followed ICE officers home, also doxxing them and their family members.

In one California case, three women were indicted by a federal grand jury for livestreaming their pursuit of an ICE agent to his home and posting his home address on Instagram. They are accused of using livestream accounts “ice_out_of_la,” “defendmesoamericanculture” and “corn_maiden_design” and encouraging their viewers to share the livestream. After arriving at the ICE agent’s house, they shouted to bystanders saying their “neighbor is ICE,” “la migra lives here,” and “ICE lives on your street and you should know,” according to the indictment.

Two were arrested on criminal complaints, Ashleigh Brown, 38, of Aurora, Colorado, and Sandra Carmona Samane, 25, of Panaroma City, Calif. Brown was charged in a separate case on charges of assaulting a federal officer and remains in federal custody without bond. Samane is free on $5,000 bond, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Cynthia Raygoza, 37, of Riverside, remains at large and wanted by authorities.

“Our brave federal agents put their lives on the line every day to keep our nation safe,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. “The conduct of these defendants are deeply offensive to law enforcement officers and their families. If you threaten, dox, or harm in any manner one of our agents or employees, you will face prosecution and prison time.”

In another California case, Gregory John Curcio, 68, was arrested after ICE Office of Professional Responsibility-San Diego agents investigated the doxxing of an ICE attorney. Curcio was arrested on charges of posting the attorney’s personal information on social media and directed others to “swat” her.

Swatting is the illegal act of making a false emergency call to provoke an armed law enforcement response.

Curcio also allegedly used multiple social media accounts to conduct a harassment campaign against her and her family dating back to January 2024, according to the charges. A judge ordered that he be held without bond at his first court appearance in Los Angeles; his arraignment is scheduled Oct. 14. He faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted.

“Doxxing is not just an invasion of privacy; it is a deliberate act of intimidation that undermines the safety and security of ICE employees who are dedicated to upholding the law and protecting our nation,” ICE OPR Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Valenzuela said. “Arresting individuals responsible for doxxing sends a clear message that such malicious behavior will not be tolerated and ensures accountability for actions that threaten the safety of our workforce.”

In another case in Texas, the Department of Homeland Security said an individual found out the identify of an ICE officer and his spouse and she received a threatening phone call. According to DHS, the caller told the ICE officer’s spouse, “I don’t know how you let your husband work for ICE, and you sleep at night. F*** you, f*** your family. I hope your kids get deported by accident. How do you sleep? F*** you. Did you hear what happened to the Nazis after World War II? Because it’s what’s going to happen to your family.”

In another case in Massachusetts, another ICE officer’s wife was identified and received a threat through a Facebook message. DHS posted a screenshot of the message sent to her from a Lakeville, Mass., resident. It states, “Your husband, the ICE man is a f*** and retribution will come your way eventually.”

In Chicago, Elias Cepeda, was arrested outside the ICE Broadview facility, accused of making terroristic threats and carrying a loaded firearm and multiple rounds of ammunition. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents seized his weapon.

DHS posted screenshots of multiple social media posts from Cepeda’s X feed appearing to call for the murder of ICE officers. In one it states that rioters are “morally justified in taking your Nazi heads off with weed whackers.”

Cepeda claims to be a journalist and a college professor at the University of Illinois, according to his Linked-in page.

Federal authorities are encouraging Americans to report suspicious criminal activity, including doxxing, by calling 866-DHS-2-ICE or filling out a tip form online.