The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Friday that it was “setting the record straight on a misleading viral video,” including footage viewed 18 million times, of federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arresting Juliana Milena Ojeda-Montoya on Nov. 6 in Massachusetts.
Ojeda-Montoya is a “a criminal illegal alien from Ecuador” who entered the country under the Biden administration and who “in August, repeatedly stabbed her coworker with scissors and then threw a trash can at her victim,” the department stated.
When ICE agents sought to arrest her on Nov. 6, Ojeda-Montoya was in a car with her husband Carlos Zapata Rivera and their child. “The child was seated in the lap of the mother in the front seat of the car, recklessly endangering the child,” the department said. “The child was not in the safety of a car seat.”
When officers told her that they had a warrant and asked her to give the child to her husband, Ojeda-Montoya refused “until the moment her husband purported to have a medical episode,” the department said. “Her husband, also an illegal alien from Ecuador, refused medical help and displayed absolutely no signs of medical concerns just moments later.”
“ICE called 911 but the illegal alien refused any medical care,” it said. “Despite ICE law enforcement officers’ several attempts to deescalate the situation and repeated requests that the father take custody of the child, both parents stated they were willing to put the child into state custody.”
“Once Zapata Rivera realized he would be arrested for immigration violations if he did not agree to take custody of the child, he suddenly decided to be a good father and left with the child,” the department said.
It added that Ojeda-Montoya resisted arrest, at which point “a crowd of agitators formed,” including those who “began shouting obscenities, death threats and antisemitic remarks at officers.”
Among the anti-Jewish things that agitators yelled were “You probably support Israel too,” “You look like a Jew” and “I bet you are a f***ing Jew,” the department said. Others told the federal officers that “we’re going to kill you and your kids.”
“Once again, the media ran with a false narrative about our brave ICE law enforcement officers,” stated Tricia McLaughlin, assistant U.S. secretary of homeland security. “As usual, here’s the real story. ICE targeted a known criminal, who repeatedly stabbed her coworker.”
“Medical personnel found there was no legitimate medical emergency. He was even caught on video on his feet and coherent moments later,” she stated. “Our law enforcement officers requested the father take custody of the child, but he refused. He quickly decided to leave with the child once he realized if he didn’t take custody ICE would arrest him for an immigration violation.”
The department added that Ojeda-Montoya and Zapata Rivera entered the United States illegally on Feb. 22, 2023, and both were released under the prior administration. “Ojeda-Montoya was transported to Cumberland County Jail in Scarborough, Maine, and will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” it said.
