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A video posted on social media showed immigration agents yanking Colombian TikToker Tatiana Martinez from her vehicle during an arrest last week.
Martinez was detained Friday in Los Angeles while she was sitting in her Tesla. She was streaming on TikTok when federal agents approached her vehicle.
Video shows three agents pulling Martinez, whose full name is Leidy Tatiana Mafla-Martinez, out of the car. She’s heard on video screaming in Spanish, “Wait! wait! I’ll get out,” as officers place her face down on the ground.
In another video, a person yells for someone to call 911 as Martinez lies motionless on the ground. She was taken to a hospital and then to a detention facility.
Martinez complained about shortness of breath during her arrest and was given medical treatment, and she is being held at a facility in Calexico, California, Homeland Security officials said. It’s not clear whether she has an attorney.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that Martinez was detained because of a previous conviction of driving under the influence in Los Angeles.
McLaughlin said Martinez came to the United States in 2022 and “was RELEASED by the Biden administration.”
Homeland Security said on X, “Under President Trump and @Sec_Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences.”
The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the social media videos.
Martinez gained followers on TikTok after she posted videos documenting the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids under President Donald Trump’s push for mass deportations, Newsweek reported. She also shared guidance about what people should do if ICE stops them.
McLaughlin said that as agents were detaining Martinez, another person “unlawfully towed a government police vehicle.”
“He mocked and videotaped ICE officers chasing after him. Secretary [Kristi] Noem has been clear: Anyone who seeks to impede law enforcement will be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” McLaughlin said.
Minyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.
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