Left to right: Kristen Roos being arrested by immigration agents and damage to Tatyana Reisini’s car allegedly caused by immigration agents (Complaint).
Two North Carolina women who say they were “followed, threatened, assaulted, and arrested” by immigration agents during “Operation Charlotte’s Web” have filed a federal lawsuit seeking more than $2.5 million from the government, according to a recently submitted complaint.
The case stems from November 2025, when the Trump administration sent a surge of immigration agents into North Carolina, with much of the enforcement activity concentrated in and around Charlotte.
As large-scale immigration sweeps spread what the lawsuit describes as “terror and fear,” Tatyana Reisini and Kristen Roos set out to observe and document the conduct of immigration agents — and were “unlawfully retaliated against for it,” according to the 17-page complaint.
Reisini and Roos, both U.S. citizens and “close friends since graduate school,” were in East Charlotte on the day at issue when they spotted “a dirty car with an out-of-state license plate driving next to them” and believed immigration agents might be inside, the lawsuit says.
The friends then followed the vehicle for “several minutes” before it turned into a parking lot, according to the complaint.
“The vehicle, which was, in fact, occupied by multiple immigration agents, drove to the far end of the parking lot, away from the stores, and came to a stop,” the lawsuit states. “As other vehicles began making noise to alert to the presence of the immigration agents, Tatyana honked her car horn and Kristen blew a whistle.”
While Reisini and Roos joined other people nearby in making noise to warn the area about the agents’ presence, the immigration agents “recorded” them, the lawsuit alleges.
After that, the dirty car was “positioned in front” of Reisini’s car by immigration agents while another car full of federal agents was positioned behind her car, according to the lawsuit.
“It appeared that the immigration agents were seeking to box them in,” the lawsuit continues. “Panicked, both women locked their car doors and rolled up their windows. Agents got out of their cars, approached [Reisini’s] car, and began yelling at both women.”
The women claim they were “[t]errified by the behavior of these uniformed, masked, and armed” men. So, Reisini “maneuvered her car away from the scene,” the lawsuit says.
But the agents did not relent, the filing notes.
“Immigration agents then began to follow both women,” the filing goes on. “Wherever [Reisini] drove, the immigration agents followed her car. Both women were in distress, unclear about what to do next.”
After talking to another observer on the phone, Reisini called 911. A dispatcher suggested driving her car into a public area.
“[Reisini] drove through a parking lot, and the immigration agents followed,” the lawsuit continues. “[Reisini] drove into a residential neighborhood, and the immigration agents continued to follow. At no time did [Reisini] violate any traffic laws.”
After some driving, however, Reisini drove her car down a dead-end street and then parked in a driveway, the lawsuit explains.
The filing recounts what happened next:
Immigration agents parked their cars and immediately swarmed the two women. An immigration agent pointed his assault rifle at the driver’s side window while multiple agents screamed at them. [Reisini and Roos] were terrified that the gun, pointed at them, would discharge and possibly injure or kill them. An immigration agent then started pounding the driver’s side window with his assault rifle, banging the tip of the barrel repeatedly against the glass. The immigration agent violently hit the window several times, each time striking the glass with the tip of the assault rifle, only inches from [Reisini’s] body.
“Eventually, the immigration agent broke most of the driver’s side door window, sending shards of glass onto [Reisini’s] clothing and exposed skin,” the filing goes on. “[Reisini and Roos] were still on the phone with the 911 operator.”
As an immigration agent opened the car door and noticed a child’s car seat in the back seat, he said, “You’re a stellar mom,” the lawsuit notes. Reisini replied, “I am a stellar mom, thank you very much,” the lawsuit says.
Then, another agent used a tool to break out the passenger’s side window. Subsequently, both women were arrested, “shackled behind their backs,” and transported to the FBI building in Charlotte, according to the lawsuit.
“After approximately four hours in the FBI building, both women were given criminal citations, charging them with assaulting federal agents,” the lawsuit goes on. “FBI agents arranged to drop both women off at a nearby Waffle House.”
In March, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina dismissed the charges against both women.
The lawsuit contains several causes of action against the federal government, including false imprisonment and false arrest, assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution and negligence. Reisini is also suing for the damage agents caused to her car windows.
The complaint also contains several constitutional claims, including alleged violations of the First and Fourth Amendments.
The post ‘You’re a stellar mom’: Women sue Trump admin after being arrested by immigration agents for honking their horn to alert community members about raids first appeared on Law & Crime.
