Video Shows Border Patrol Threaten Legal Observer in Key Largo for Following Him |
First Amendment
C.J. Ciaramella | 1.12.2026 5:06 PM
A U.S. Border Patrol officer threatened to arrest a legal observer in Key Largo, Florida, today for following the officer, video of the encounter posted on Instagram shows.
The video is another instance of federal immigration officers threatening and harassing legal observers for conduct that civil liberties groups and multiple federal circuit courts say is firmly protected First Amendment activity.
The observer and activist, a 64-year-old Key Largo man who requested that his name not be printed to avoid retaliation, tells Reason he is part of a local group that tracks federal immigration enforcement activity in the Upper Florida Keys. Key Largo was the scene of a Border Patrol stop in December that generated national headlines after officers dragged a U.S. citizen out of her car.
The observer says he was following an unmarked Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vehicle from a safe distance when the car turned into a restaurant parking lot. The observer says he parked well over 25 feet away from the CBP vehicle, at which point the Border Patrol officer got out of his car, put on a mask, and approached the observer's car. That is where the observer's cell phone video picks up:
A post shared by 50501 Key Largo (@50501_key_largo)
"This is your one warning, do you understand this?" the officer says in the video. "One warning. You've been following us around."
"I'm just........