Read our editorial on mass deportations here.
Isaiah Hodgson, the Border Patrol agent infamous for participating in the violent arrest of a Walmart worker in LA County, died in August. Hodgson’s lawyer announced to a California court this month that the death was due to drug overdose.
Hodgson was filmed taking part in an immigration raid in June against a foreign born janitor at a Walmart in Pico Rivera, CA. Hodgson was the only agent in the assault on the workers who was not wearing a face mask. In contrast to the cowardly attack, Adrian Martinez, a worker at the Walmart, stood up for his coworker and, in spite of being a domestic born worker, was overpowered by the mob of federal agents, thrown into the back of a truck, and abducted.
US Attorney Bill Essayli took to publicly blaming Martinez for “punching a Border Patrol agent in the face”, in an attempt to intimidate workers from standing together against the terror inflicted upon foreign born workers. Martinez was held for three days in the dungeon of the downtown Los Angeles detention facility even after his bond was paid. The worker was charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal agent. Martinez was subsequently fired by Walmart, which is the largest single exploiter of workers in the US. Demonstrating the spirit of the working class, Martinez expresses that he has no regrets about speaking up for his fellow workers, while decrying the conditions of workers held by ICE in shackles which he witnessed during his detention.
Later in July, the unfolding story of agent Isaiah Hodgson displays a contrasting character—one of cowardice and backwardness, showcasing the type of person attracted to the agencies of repression to begin with. Hodgson was arrested in Long Beach, not for his violent assault on workers, but after drunkenly stumbling into the women’s restroom at a restaurant while carrying a gun and harassing a woman for a date. After the police were called, Hodgson attempted to hide his weapon. His status as an agent was not apparent to the police who proceeded to treat him as anyone else of Latin descent and brutally taze him.
Hodgson claimed to have been harassed by the masses for his involvement in the terror campaign of the old state and pleaded not guilty to the charges of assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, and carrying a concealed firearm in public, lasting only one month on bond before overdosing in his parents’ California home—an end fitting for a servant of reaction.
Adrian Martinez still battles his own charges in federal court, where he faces prison time for defending the rights of his fellow workers.
Image: Bodycam footage of Long Beach police arresting Hodgson in July.
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