A dramatic video captured the moment an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shoved a gun in the face of an unarmed bystander during a tense operation in California. 

The encounter took place on Friday just before 8.30am in North Hollywood after federal agents dragged a man off the sidewalk and into custody, witness Damari Butler told the Los Angeles Times. 

Butler, who recorded the violent incident, said he was sitting on his balcony when he suddenly saw a man get tackled by two masked agents without any warning, he told the outlet. 

‘There was no asking his name, no ID, nothing. They just grabbed him,’ Butler recalled. 

The incident came amid President Trump’s immigration crackdown, whose success the GOP has sought to highlight ahead of this week’s midterms which polls suggest could be a disaster for the party.

There has been widespread speculation that immigration agents could be deployed at polling places – which the Department of Justice denied in a court filing on Thursday.

The clip first showed two ICE agents taking another man into custody while the bystander walked two dogs.

Then, just seconds later, another agent ran over to the man with the dogs and told him to back away as he picked up a can of pepper spray and appeared to move it out of the way, Butler said. 

The third agent, who was also covering his face, then shoved the man into a bush and pointed a gun at his face as the dogs barked, the video shows. 

He was soon let go and screamed: ‘What the f** is wrong with you?’ 

An unarmed bystander had a gun shoved in his face by a masked ICE officer on Friday morning while he walked two dogs

The three agents stood in the street as the man they took into custody screamed. 

People in the background were heard asking if someone had recorded the moment as the agents picked the handcuffed man up by his arms and legs and tried to get him in an SUV. 

As they did so, the man with the dogs kept asking if someone got the car’s license plate while another SUV pulled up to the scene.  

‘They’re hurting him! They’re hurting him!’ the bystander screamed. 

One of the masked agents ran after the bystander again as he ran away screaming. 

The video then panned back over to three agents who appeared to struggle to get the man in handcuffs inside the car. 

He repeatedly screamed as one of the officers appeared to pull a taser on him. 

The incident occurred when several federal agents arrested an unknown man who screamed as they tried to get him into a car. He was the only one detained during the incident

The ICE incident came amid polls showing President Trump is on course to lose badly in this week’s midterms, despite his striking success on bringing down illegal immigration

The clip ended with a total of four officers hovering over the man as people screamed in terror. 

The identity of the man who was detained has not been revealed, nor has the reason for his arrest. 

He was the only one detained during the incident.  

The Daily Mail contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment. 

A majority of Americans support immigration reform, after the number of people crossing the southern border illegally swelled to record numbers during President Joe Biden’s single term in office.

Trump’s hard crackdown saw immigration numbers tumble – although some of the tactics used by ICE and DHS agents were met with criticism from the left and right.

Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exited her role in disgrace after two anti-ICE protesters, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, were shot dead on the streets of Minneapolis. 

Earlier this week, the federal government was forced to deny that ICE and DHS agents would serve polling station monitors at Tuesday’s midterms, although it is illegal for non-citizens to vote anyway. 

The Justice Department told a federal court on Thursday its election monitors will not act as law enforcement at polling places, after the NAACP sued to keep prosecutors and other law enforcement personnel out of the role.

In a filing in the civil rights group’s case, the DOJ said monitors will largely watch and take notes, and will be barred from carrying firearms.

It added that they have been trained not to interfere with voting and to follow state and local rules, in line with past practice.

The NAACP argues the administration’s plans amount to voter intimidation.

The Trump administration has taken a harder line on election oversight, pressing states for voter-registration data and arguing tougher measures are needed to shore up public confidence in the vote.

Polls show the party on track to lose the House of Representatives and possibly even the Senate.

President Trump’s hugely unpopular war in Iran and associated surges in the cost of living have put many Americans who voted MAGA in 2024 from picking him again, if polls are to be believed.

Historically red states like Texas and Kansas could even turn blue, although top Republicans including Trump himself say those polls cannot be trusted.