Federal immigration agents pepper-sprayed protesters who were trying to stop an arrest in downtown San Francisco on Wednesday and tackled one to the ground, arresting them, according to witnesses.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had arrested an asylum-seeker following a hearing at immigration court in San Francisco and were trying to transport them to their headquarters a half-mile away.
The arrest sparked chaos outside when ICE officers encountered protesters who have been gathering outside the court at 100 Montgomery St. in recent weeks. Immigrants legally seeking asylum have been routinely arrested after their court hearings and flown to far-flung detention centers…