SPRINGFIELD — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio is suing seven Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers for allegedly intimidating a Springfield resident.
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In a release, the ACLU of Ohio said Sean Moorman “has been subjected to menacing and intimidation” by ICE officers “in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment right to record them in public.”
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“Mr. Moorman is a peaceful volunteer, lawfully observing ICE enforcement actions against his Haitian neighbors, and has been the target of a flagrant and escalating campaign of retaliation that continues to this day,” the ACLU of Ohio said.
The lawsuit includes several allegations against ICE officers, including that they swerved a vehicle toward Moorman’s car as if to ram him, approached him to take “close-range” photos or scans of his face and vehicle without apparent cause, and blasted a loud horn and repeatedly screamed his name while next to his car on a public street.
It also alleges that three ICE vehicles “pursued, crowded, and boxed him in through a parking lot for an extended period, causing him to send out an ‘SOS’ message to other community members—one of whom suffered similar treatment by (the officers) when he came to help.”
Later, the officers reportedly drove to Moorman’s house and photographed it.
The organization has also filed a request for an emergency injunction in federal court and asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order against the officers.
News Center 7 has reached out to ICE for a comment on the lawsuit. We have not received a response at the time of this report.
We’ll continue to follow this story and will provide updates as we learn more.
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