An Old Lady Took on DHS. Guess Who Won?

How a tiny 75-year-old woman stood up to Trump's goons.

Patricia, two days after her arrest outside ICE headquarters in Portland: “Like many criminals, I felt compelled to return to the scene of the crime.”

One of the great joys of publishing TBR is the time I spend each day in the comments section reading what you have to say.

Last December, this comment from a subscriber named Patricia got my attention:

“Exciting day for old ladies, I was arrested in front of the ICE building in Portland Oregon. The charge was obstructing access to a federal facility. Great optics a 75 year old white woman, 5’2”, 120 lbs., being dragged off by armed DHS officers. I was handcuffed and held for almost an hour. Being a nasty woman, instead of cringing and crying, I made fun of them and bragged about my history as a serial murderer and how being arrested and handcuffed ticked off another bucket list item for me. We have it all on video, can’t wait to show it to the judge.”

If this is the first you’re hearing of this incident, there’s a good reason: the corporate media refused to cover it.

So I decided to share Patricia’s story.

I posted Patricia’s comment on Facebook and it immediately went viral, reaching over half a million people in a matter of hours. Patricia’s defiance of Trump’s lackeys drew overwhelming praise from Facebook commenters.

I contacted Patricia and she generously offered to answer a few questions—and shared this video of her arrest:

As you can see, it’s ludicrous to accuse this tiny woman of obstructing the entrance to ICE. If I were a potential ICE recruit eager to pursue a rewarding career as a masked goon, I think I could have maneuvered around her. If not, I’m probably not ICE material.

“This happened Friday about 11 am,” Patricia told me. “It was my own private protest. Every week or so, I walk back and forth in front of the building.”

Does she have a message for the three DHS hooligans who manhandled her?

“Show respect, for the rule of law and for others,” she said. “You are contributing to a culture of hate and violence in our country. I am just grateful I wasn’t thrown to the ground or suffered more than a bit of tenderness in my shoulders and neck. The thugs weren’t happy that I refused to cower or be intimidated.”

Finally, I asked her a question that many posed on Facebook: why has there been no media coverage of this incident? “I tried to contact a couple of the tv stations, but no one was interested,” she said.

Last week, I again heard from Patricia, who gave me this update on her court appearance:

“I went to federal court this morning to contest my citation for blocking access to the ICE facility in Portland Oregon. The video I showed the federal attorneys was the proverbial a picture is worth a thousand words. Video ended. Citation dismissed. Thank you to all who encouraged me.”

Congratulations, Patricia! And thanks to all of you who shared her story and cheered her on.