What to do if you see masked gunmen
As Trump’s goons ramp up their attacks on our own community, more and more people are wondering how they can help.
Here’s what we recommend.
ICE agents and protesters clashing outside the San Francisco immigration courthouse at 100 Montgomery St. on July 8, 2025. Photo by Frankie Solinsky Duryea/Mission Local.
There are two aspects to this:
First is that you may see masked gunmen in plain clothes, not wearing uniforms or other insignia that identify them as ICE or other law enforcement. Caution is warranted because there have been cases of people pretending to be anonymous ICE agents as a means of kidnapping people.
Second, ICE agents (actual ones) are law enforcement officers, so they should generally leave you alone as long as you don’t interfere with what they’re doing.
From these points follow two basic approaches:
Call the local police (SFPD, in our case) and report masked gunmen sighted at your location. Describe the number of personnel, what they’re armed with (e.g., assault rifles), and where they are. Basically, treat them as the suspicious persons they are and report a suspected kidnapping in progress—from a safe distance.
If they are clearly ICE or other law enforcement, film them. You can ask them for name and badge numbers as long as you stay clearly out of their way, but they may not reply, they may tell you to move back, or they may try to arrest you for interfering in their work. Try to film them as safely as you can.
Additionally, if you’ve confirmed that they are ICE, call SFILEN’s Rapid Response Hotline at 415-200-1548 to report the ICE activity you are witnessing. Remember, only use this hotline for ICE activity you personally are witnessing on the ground, not reports circulating on social media.
When you’re safely back at home, we ask that you also take a moment to thank State Senator Wiener for SB627, the No Secret Police Act that would require federal law enforcement to wear identification with ID numbers and their names displayed.
References
KQED: Safety Tips for Recording the Police in Public
Teen Vogue: How to Safely and Ethically Film Police Misconduct
TikTok video of a woman confronting and driving off suspected ICE agents in Irvine, CA
Senators Wiener and Arreguin announce No Secret Police Act
Know your rights if ICE Confronts you | ACLU of Northern California