Laughter Factory Chicago is crowdsourcing to help night manager Nathan Griffin with legal remedies after he was arrested Friday morning outside a comedy club.
Despite being born in America, masked federal agents wrestled him to the ground and reportedly took him into custody without due process for attempting to interfere with an immigration operation.
A video Footage of the arrest showed at least four agents in camouflage fatigues pushing Griffin to the ground and handcuffing him, briefly pinning down his mother, Elaine Plibon. “Why are you doing this? Where are you taking him?” Passers-by could be heard screaming as he was placed in the back seat.
“After being arrested and hidden throughout the system, he finally showed up approximately 4 hours after his arrest at the FBI awaiting a hearing on a federal assault charge that could carry an 8 year prison sentence if convicted,” Griffin's son-in-law wrote on his website. GoFundMe page for his attorney fees.
IN video After his mother’s post, she noted that her “voice is still very shaky” and her arm hurts from the quarrel. “For those of you who don't know, I was in Chicago visiting my son and he was kidnapped by the Border Patrol in front of me,” she said.
“When I think about walking out the door in the morning, I don’t feel like it,” she added in part. “Because I don't want to face the SUV, the screaming, the crying and the horrible things that I saw before I got pulled into the fight when someone tried to kidnap my son.
This was reported by area resident Will Colich. NBC Chicago he saw agents drive up and grab the man, who appeared to be Hispanic, before people gathered and “started screaming, stop it” before more agents got out of the car and arrested Griffin.
A Border Patrol spokesman told the outlet that Griffin “attempted to impede and impede federal officers” by attempting to close the car door on the agent's foot. “The individual was immediately detained and turned over to the FBI for investigation,” they said.
Chicago police arrived on the scene around 9:20 a.m. in response to a call about a beating in progress, and told NBC they were working to “de-escalate and control the crowd to ensure the safety of all those gathered at the scene.”
In a since-deleted post from Laugh Factory Chicago, which included video of the arrest, they said Griffin's family is aware of his arrest and is “actively working toward his release,” according to CBS News.
Griffin's arrest comes after the Trump administration deployed 300 California National Guard troops to Oregon, under the guise of law and order, and boots on the ground in Chicago and other major cities.
