A visually impaired man protesting outside an ICE facility in South Portland was forcefully detained by federal agents, who allegedly dropped him on his head during the arrest.
Quinn Haberl, identified by his neon vest, was sitting at the edge of the building’s driveway during the demonstration on Saturday.
Positioned right next to a prominent blue line marking the start of federal property, it appeared he had not crossed this boundary.
Disturbing video footage captured the moment officers converged on Haberl, who was seated on the ground, holding his walking stick.
As agents seized his limbs, Haberl struggled, while onlookers reacted in shock, with one exclaiming, “He is blind!”
The protestor, clearly vulnerable, was aggressively dragged across the driveway toward the facility.
As the officers lifted Haberl off the ground, the video showed them appearing to lose their grip as he fell to the asphalt.
Agents were then seen forcing him to the ground and cuffing him. One of the officers picked up his white walking cane.
Quinn Haberl wore a neon vest as he sat on the side of the building’s driveway during a protest on Saturday (pictured: Haberl being detained)
Haberl (pictured) said he is afraid to leave his home since the incident
‘I’m only four-foot-six and I can’t see, what harm was I going to do to them?’ Haberl tearfully told KGW.
While he is known as a frequent anti-ICE protester with a cheerful demeanor, he said he is now afraid to leave his home. He was charged with failure to comply, he noted.
‘They put their foot or something on my back, and some part of them on my neck,’ he alleged.
‘It was scary, being dragged across the ground when you can’t see what’s happening around you.’
Bystanders also reflected on Haberl’s arrest.
‘It was heartbreaking to see him being dragged the way he was,’ one man, who filmed the event as it unfolded, told KOIN.
‘The visceral reaction was to just not continue videotaping and get the angle, but I just couldn’t keep it out…I had to keep him in frame and it just hurt my heart.’
Another witness, Sterling Anderson, posed the question: ‘What threat does that man represent to agents of the state or property?’
After he was released from custody, Haberl said he went to the hospital to get evaluated after the ordeal.
He suffered from bruising on his shoulders, hands and arms, he told KGW.
As the officers lifted Haberl off the ground, they lost their grip – causing his head to slam into the asphalt (pictured)
Haberl (pictured) said he suffered from bruising on his shoulders, hands and arms
‘They call Portland a warzone, the only people making it a warzone is ICE,’ he asserted.
Addressing the incident to KOIN, the Department of Homeland Security said: ‘This rioter was arrested after he blatantly disobeyed law enforcement orders to remain off federal property, obstructed law enforcement, and continued to block the driveway so vehicles could not enter or exit the ICE facility.’
Chaotic ICE protests broke out in front of Portland ICE facilities over the summer. At the same time, similar demonstrations broke out in other major cities, including Los Angeles.
On September 27, Donald Trump declared he would send ‘all necessary Troops’ to ‘war‑ravaged Portland,’ to protect the city and its ICE facilities ‘from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.’
But Oregon officials have fiercely pushed back on Trump’s efforts to send National Guard members to quell protests at an ICE facility in the city.
