'ICE out' protest, rally planned in Sacramento area 1 week after SUV hit observer

Darrell Smith, The Sacramento Bee on Oct 27, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Marchers plan to take to Woodland streets Tuesday to protest the presence of federal immigration agents in the Northern California city where, one week earlier, an agent appeared to strike an observer with his vehicle as local authorities continue their probe into the collision.

Demonstrators will first gather 4 p.m. at the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office on Second Street where organizers are demanding county prosecutors file hit-and-run and assault charges against the ICE agent accused of striking Woodland observer Antonio Moreida with his unmarked SUV on Oct. 20.

The District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday said only that it had not yet received a report from Woodland police.

The collision, captured on video from multiple angles, was met with swift condemnation from immigrant rights advocates, Woodland leaders and lawmakers — including U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, who represents Woodland and Yolo County, and California Sen. Alex Padilla, setting the stage for Tuesday’s planned protests.

Organizers also demanded that California Attorney General Rob Bonta take over any prosecution of criminal charges against the federal agent if Yolo County “does not file charges within a reasonable time.” The Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Protesters will walk to Heritage Plaza on Main Street for a rally in the same spot where Moreida, advocates and Thompson demanded action last week, before ending the demonstration blocks away at Yolo County Courthouse, 1000 Main St.

“The bottom line is that nobody is above the law,” Thompson said last week in Woodland, demanding that “any individuals found to have engaged in misconduct or unlawful behavior, are held fully accountable.”

The march and rally come as Immigration and Customs Enforcement has surged agents into Woodland and across the Sacramento region as part of a 45-day federal operation throughout California ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Sacramento City Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, in a Facebook post Tuesday, said she was alerted Monday to ICE enforcement activity in her Natomas district and saw ICE vehicles outside a Natomas eatery.

“I personally witnessed agents leaving the Natomas Applebee’s in unmarked black sedans and trucks with heavily tinted windows and no license plates. I absolutely condemn ICE terrorizing our neighborhoods,” Kaplan’s post on Tuesday read. “These aggressive enforcement tactics do not make us safer. Instead, they weaponize fear, disrupt local workplaces, and target families and neighbors who contribute to Sacramento every single day.”

Sacramento advocate group NorCal Resist on Monday also said on its social media accounts that it witnessed ICE agents working in Natomas and Northgate.

Immigrants’ rights groups and local elected officials are monitoring the ongoing surge, which, in recent weeks, included a report of ICE agents gathering in the parking lot of a Yuba City veterans’ hall used as a polling place, as confirmed by Padilla’s office.

A host of groups are leading the afternoon “ICE Out Demand Justice” rally including Yolo Democratic Socialists of America and a coalition of local groups including UC Davis Young Democratic Socialists of America, Indivisible Yolo, DeFlock Woodland, Davis Phoenix Coalition, Mutual Aid Davis and Woodland for Peace, according to organizers.

What videos showed of ICE vehicle incident

Video shared by NorCal Resist showed Moreida standing in the street recording an approaching SUV when its front-right corner appeared to strike him, knocking him to the pavement. The vehicle continued down the street.

Video footage from three different angles surfaced publicly in the hours following the incident. The first, shared by NorCal Resist, showed an angle from behind the involved SUV; two others, first shared by KCRA, showed the collision from the perspective of a home security camera angle and from a GoPro that Moreida was carrying.

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials denied a collision happened, referring to Moreida as an “agitator” who climbed the hood of the ICE agent’s sport utility vehicle to stage a collision for video cameras.

Woodland police have disputed ICE’s account of the incident as its investigation continues. Woodland police did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but police Chief Ryan Kinnan had said he had viewed the video.

“Our responsibility is to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation to establish the facts,” Kinnan said in a statement following the collision.

“I understand why people in our community are upset and worried,” the chief said. “We recognize the concerns surrounding federal law enforcement activity in Woodland, and the safety and well-being of our community members remain a priority.”

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