A California councilman drew fierce backlash from MAGA supporters after calling immigration agents "terrorists" and "jackbooted thugs" in a social media rant over the weekend.
Democratic San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, who has served on the council since 2020 and led as its president from 2021 to 2024, sparked controversy over the weekend after posting a photo of armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in tactical gear, with the word "terrorists" scrawled across the image in orange lettering.
"Look at this photo," Elo-Rivera wrote in the Instagram caption. "This isn't a war zone—it's a neighborhood in our city. In San Diego, they've targeted parents dropping off their kids at school, people following the law inside courthouses, and workers just doing their jobs at local restaurants."
He went on to accuse federal agents of carrying out their raids "under the false pretense of safety."
"This isn't safety. It's state-sponsored terrorism," Elo-Rivera said, urging those who support freedom and security to fight back.
Elo-Rivera's post, shared Friday, drew nearly 400 comments by Sunday, with many of the top-liked responses calling for his resignation.
"Apparently you've forgotten that you're supposed to represent the actual citizens of your district, not random people who just show up illegally," one social media user wrote.
"You should pull this picture down, doesn't make you look good as a civil servant," another added.
"Just another Democrat trying to put our law enforcement in danger and incite violence," a third commented.
Prior to Elo-Rivera's post, approximately 10 ICE agents ambushed an Italian restaurant in San Diego's South Park neighborhood, according to reporting by KPBS. They executive a criminal search warrant, according to an anonymous Homeland Security Investigations special agent, and ended up arresting at least three additional employees.
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