TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jul 18, 2022

Federal agents accused of targeting, mocking and, in some instances, brutalizing Latino workers at a Grainger County slaughterhouse claim their lives will be endangered by the public release of video from the controversial raid. Although the video is currently under seal, an investigation by Tennessee Lookout of the April 2018 raid indicates the footage appears to show a U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent putting his boot on the neck of a Latino worker and punching another Latino worker in the head without provocation. In depositions taken in the case, the agent’s colleagues allegedly agree that the actions constituted excessive force. Those who were involved in raid are now asking a federal judge to bar public release of the footage and any mention in the court record of what it depicts. They argue the information could "prejudice potential jurors, provoke retaliation and place the agents … at personal risk.”