- A 21-year-old protester was permanently blinded in one eye after being shot by federal agents.
- Medical teams removed shards of plastic and metal from the victim’s face following the close-range shot.
- Witnesses and experts dispute DHS claims, calling the use of projectiles potentially lethal force at close range.
santa ana, CALIFORNIA — A Department of homeland security agent shot 21-year-old anti-ICE protester Kaden Rummler in the face with a non-lethal round from a few feet away outside the santa ana federal building on January 9, 2026, permanently blinding him in his left eye, his aunt said.
Jeri Rees said Rummler underwent six hours of surgery after doctors found shards of plastic, glass, and metal embedded in his eyes and face, including a metal piece 7 millimeters from his carotid artery, along with a fractured skull around his eyes and nose.
Accounts of what unfolded at the Santa Ana federal building diverge sharply, with DHS describing a violent crowd and witnesses disputing that characterization as video circulates of the close-range shot and the chaotic moments afterward.
Organizers said the demonstration was held two days after the fatal shooting of Minnesota mother Renee Good by a federal immigration agent, and focused on Trump administration mass deportations and police brutality.
Videos cited by witnesses show protesters throwing orange safety cones at agents guarding the building, followed by agents approaching and attempting to arrest Skye Jones, a Dare to Struggle Orange County chapter leader, prompting others to intervene, including Rummler, who was holding a loudspeaker.
Witnesses and relatives said an agent fired non-lethal rounds into the crowd, striking a woman in the leg before aiming at Rummler’s face and firing at close range, described as a few feet away. The type of projectile was not independently confirmed as of January 13, 2026, though it was described as possibly pepper balls.
Rummler dropped to the ground clutching his face as blood poured from his left eye, and the same agent dragged him by his jacket hood into the building, Rees said. Inside, Rummler struggled to breathe and choked on fabric around his neck as he was pulled along, she said.
Rees said agents pressed Rummler’s face into a pool of his own “dark and thick” blood, and Rummler later recounted officers mocking him and delaying medical help.
“You’re going to lose your eye,”
Rummler said officers told him this, according to Rees.
Rummler said, “I pleaded with him, call an ambulance. I thought I was going to bleed out on the floor of the federal building with the dhs officer holding my head down to the ground like a trophy.”
Rummler was cited for disorderly conduct and hospitalized, and as of January 13, 2026, he remained under care for potential neurotoxins, Rees said. She said doctors removed plastic the size of a nickel from his eye, his tear duct was destroyed, and “flaps of my eye. barely holding on.”
Rummler released a statement via Dare to Struggle that was read at a January 13 news conference outside Santa Ana City Jail.
“I will never see through my left eye again, not even light. I’m just glad I’m alive to tell my story,”
He said he would continue opposing ICE raids and “forces that depend on fear.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described a “mob of 60 rioters” who threw rocks, bottles and fireworks and wielded shields, injuring two officers. McLaughlin said two were arrested for assault on federal officers and disorderly conduct, naming Rummler and Jones.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said: “Any rioter who obstructs or assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
DHS did not address projectile protocols or respond to questions about Rummler’s injuries, according to accounts provided by witnesses and organizers.
Modoc County Sheriff’s Deputy Ed Obayashi, a use-of-force expert who has testified in similar cases, said he reviewed video of the incident and questioned the decision to fire toward Rummler’s face at close range.
“This constitutes as deadly force as far as the law is concerned. all the training manuals and [legal] cases say you don’t aim at the face because these projectiles can cause serious injury [or] death,”
“I just don’t see [imminent danger or great bodily harm] here,” he added.
Connor Atwood, a Dare to Struggle member who was present, said the crowd was winding down peacefully near a staircase away from the entrance when agents fired rounds multiple times without prior arrests, after some protesters burned an American flag. Atwood said he did not see rocks or bottles thrown at agents and described only firecrackers set off on the sidewalk.
Santa Ana Police confirmed only cones were thrown, according to the account provided.
Orange County supervisors called the video disturbing and cited what they described as a lack of federal cooperation for an investigation, organizers said.
Jones was released by January 13 and attended the press conference, according to the account provided. Paramedics took Rummler away on a gurney after 10:30 p.m., witnesses said.
Dare to Struggle launched a GoFundMe for Rummler’s medical expenses as he remained under care, and public calls for transparency and a clearer accounting of the munition used and the circumstances of the shot continued as of January 13, 2026. No independent confirmation of the exact projectile type or metal composition had been reported by that date.
Kaden Rummler, a 21-year-old protester, suffered permanent blindness and facial fractures after being shot at close range by a DHS agent during a Santa Ana demonstration. Despite DHS claims of officer injuries and rioting, video evidence and expert testimony suggest the use of force was excessive and violated safety protocols. Rummler remains hospitalized while community members demand a full investigation into the munitions used.
