Early last week, local reports swirled about Charlotte, North Carolina, being next on the list for an extensive federal immigration enforcement operation.
Fresh off of Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) units arrived in Charlotte this past Saturday for the “Charlotte’s Web” operation, and it didn’t take long before things got underway:
On day one, there were 81 arrests, and that number rose to 200 through Tuesday:
On Monday, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told ABC News that those arrested in Charlotte over the weekend by CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allegedly “have all broken the immigration laws of our country.”
“Criminal records of those arrested include known gang membership, aggravated assault, possession of a dangerous weapon, felony larceny, simple assault, hit and run, possession of stolen goods, shoplifting, DUI, DWI, and illegal re-entry after prior deportation, a felony,” a DHS spokesperson said. “We will not stop enforcing the laws of our nation until every criminal illegal alien is arrested and removed from our country.”
Not surprisingly, agitators are busy doing their thing in stirring the pot, with some going so far as allegedly trying to forcibly impede CBP operations by using their vehicles as weapons.
In one such incident on Sunday in the University area of Charlotte, here’s what DHS says went down:
This afternoon in Charlotte near University City, a United States citizen weaponized his vehicle, driving a large van at law enforcement while they were conducting an operation. He immediately fled the scene, starting a dangerous high-speed chase through a densely populated area. During the chase, he attempted to ram into law enforcement vehicles— posing a serious public safety threat. As agents were boxing him in— the driver proceeded to ram law enforcement vehicles in an attempt to escape. When the driver was arrested, a firearms was found in the vehicle.One law enforcement officer was injured.The perpetrator has prior arrests for resisting law enforcement, public disturbance and intoxication/ disruptive conduct.
Moments later, the suspect was caught just up the road, across from UNC-Charlotte:
24-year-old Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez was the person taken into custody – and he now faces felony charges.
A similar incident happened on Monday, also in the University area, and involved another agitator who allegedly tried to box in and ram immigration enforcement vehicles at a gas station and then led them on a brief high-speed chase before being cornered in a cul-de-sac and arrested:
At the end of a cul-de-sac on 7736 Newell View Ln., just eight minutes away from campus, was an individual handcuffed and sitting upright against their car, surrounded by six large SUV vehicles and roughly two dozen officers.
[…]
“This individual assaulted a federal officer at a gas station about a mile away, and then engaged officers in a high-speed pursuit, failed to yield to lights and sirens. [They] traveled down this cul-de-sac, came to a stop, and then was arrested,” [top CBP commander Gregory] Bovino said at the site of the arrest.
I was actually traveling down Rocky River Road West on Monday, running errands, and caught the tail end of the blockade that was set up at the turn-in point to Newell View Lane. There was a heavy presence of enforcement agents along with anti-ICE trackers who were filming what they could.
Ali Bradley, a correspondent for NewsNation, shared what she witnessed:
#BREAKING We witnessed @CMDROpAtLargeCA and his team being assaulted in Charlotte while at a gas station getting snacks and using the bathroom.A self-proclaimed anti-ICE activist hopped a curb, barreled into the parking lot and drove aggressively at agents. Agents gave the individual a warning—They then tried to box agents in to prevent them from leaving. Agents issued another warning. The individual then backed up into a government vehicle, then took off leading agents on a high-speed pursuit for about a mile.The individual who is reportedly a U.S. citizen was arrested for assault on a federal agent but denied any wrongdoing.
I’m very familiar with this part of Charlotte, and I should note that in both instances, the roads that both of these suspects would have had to travel down are busy, heavily traveled residential and business parts of the community. The route that the Monday suspect likely took would have taken them past multiple neighborhoods and past an elementary school around lunchtime, when kids are sometimes playing on the fenced-in playground, which is at the front of the school and right next to the street.
Tire slashings have taken place as well:
There was also this:
The operation has since expanded to include North Carolina’s capital city, Raleigh, and other nearby areas. It is believed that the “Charlotte’s Web” mission will wrap up on Friday, with the next operation set to take place in New Orleans.
– Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –
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