Overview
- Kaden Rummler, 21, says a federal agent’s less‑lethal round left him permanently blind in his left eye, with doctors removing plastic, metal and glass and leaving a fragment near his carotid artery after hours of surgery.
- Video from Jan. 9 shows officers firing at close range outside the Santa Ana federal building, Rummler collapsing clutching his face, and an agent dragging him by his jacket.
- DHS describes the crowd as a violent mob that injured two officers and led to two arrests, and a senior official characterized the hospitalized protester’s wound as a cut treated and released the same night.
- A second man, Britain Rodriguez, told the Los Angeles Times he was also shot in the eye that night, with damage to his iris, cornea and lens and an uncertain prognosis after developing a cataract.
- Doctors and the protester’s attorney say efforts to learn what munition was used have gone unanswered by DHS, while local police and witness video indicate protesters tossed traffic cones but not rocks or bottles.