Dramatic moment 80-year-old attorney is floored by ICE agents after meddling with operation

A dramatic confrontation unfolded in Santa Barbara on Friday when an 80-year-old attorney was pushed to the ground and pepper-sprayed while trying to intervene in an immigration operation.

Footage shows Doug Hayes, a well-known local criminal defense lawyer, confronting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside the Santa Barbara County Probation Department on Carrillo Street. The eight-minute video, first obtained by the Santa Barbara Independent, captures a tense scene as bystanders gather around a white Dodge Charger.

The video begins with onlookers shouting, honking, and blowing whistles to alert neighbors to ICE’s presence. Two activists approach the vehicle: one leans into the front passenger window, while the other crouches near the rear right tire. Moments later, an agent emerges from the passenger seat and tackles the man, identified as 27-year-old Santa Barbara resident Jack Randmaa, who is wrestled to the ground by two agents as the crowd yells.

https://

Santa Barbara, CA: Attorney Doug Hayes attacks ICE agents mid-detention gets slammed to the ground and pepper-sprayed in the face.

That’s felony assault caught on video.

Hope he gets charged hard. Lawyers don’t get a free pass to break the law. pic.twitter.com/Ee98ICPtrN

— Kim “Katie” USA (@KimKatieUSA) February 21, 2026

Tensions rise as agents threaten the crowd with pepper spray. Hayes steps in, calling the agents “cowards” and demanding they show their faces. “Why don’t you do something good? Be a citizen. Be a human being. What are your children going to think of you?” he shouts.

As Hayes bends down to pick up Randmaa’s backpack, an agent sprays him directly in the face and pushes him to the pavement. Bystanders quickly assist Hayes, pouring water into his eyes and helping him to safety. A colleague later confirmed Hayes is “doing OK.”

Backup ICE agents arrive about five minutes after the initial struggle. Santa Barbara police said they were not notified in advance of the operation and were not present during the arrest.