Bronx man accused of attacking Homeland Security agent hours after Marble Hill ICE shooting
According to the criminal complaint, 42-year-old Liberty Martin assaulted the agent on the Broadway Bridge at around 6:15 p.m. on Oct. 8, where Martin and others were gathered to protest the ICE shooting.
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Federal prosecutors say a Bronx man was arrested for an alleged attack on a Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent. It happened hours after Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers shot Oscar Belgal in the Marble Hill section of the Bronx.
According to the criminal complaint, 42-year-old Liberty Martin assaulted the agent on the Broadway Bridge at around 6:15 p.m. on Oct. 8, where Martin and others were gathered to protest the ICE shooting.
Prosecutors say “Agent 1” and “Agent 2” responded to support other federal agents at the shooting scene and were trying to return to their parked cars on the bridge, where they were met by protestors.
According to the complaint, Martin was captured on video grabbing Agent 1 by his collar and pulling him backward, ripping the agent's shirt in at least three places.
Officials say Martin and other demonstrators then surrounded the agents and followed them to their cars.
Here, two other people allegedly pushed Agent 1 into the side of his car, grabbed his clothes and slammed the door on his head.
Investigators say Agent 1 had taken off his badge and was holding it in his hand, out of fear that someone might grab the badge and choke him with it.
According to the complaint, once the agents escaped the crowd and got into their separate cars, they drove about 500 meters and pulled over.
Agent 2 then realized Agent 1 was bleeding from his forehead and that Agent 1’s badge was missing.
Investigators say Agent 1 drove himself to a hospital in Manhattan where doctors superglued his head laceration together and diagnosed him with a “contusion of other part of head.” He was discharged about 30 to 60 minutes later.
Prosecutors say the badge has not been recovered.
“Make no mistake: an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” said HSI Special Agent Pete Gizas. “Assaulting a federal law enforcement officer is a severe crime that carries zero leniency, guaranteeing that the perpetrator will be caught and that justice will be swiftly served.”
For his alleged role in the attack, Martin is charged with physically assaulting an employee of the United States. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of eight years behind bars.
“Our Office will aggressively protect and defend our law enforcement partners against unlawful attacks,” said United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald.
