An off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent was accused of drunkenly fighting with Long Beach police officers earlier this week after he was asked to leave a bar, authorities said.
Isaiah Hodgson, 29, was charged with three counts of resisting arrest, one count of battery causing injury to a police officer and several misdemeanor weapons offenses in connection with the July 7 episode in the Shoreline Village area, a busy tourist section of Long Beach not far from where the Queen Mary is docked, according to Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman.
“The conduct exhibited by Mr. Hodgson, a border patrol agent who has the duty to uphold the law and protect its citizens, is unacceptable and deeply troubling,” Hochman said in a statement. “No one is above the law, regardless of their position or badge.”
Hodgson was “off-duty, intoxicated and armed with a handgun” inside a restaurant when he entered the women’s restroom and approached a female, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office. The woman noticed Hodgson carrying a firearm and notified restaurant staff, prosecutors said. Outside the restaurant, a security guard approached Hodgson and asked him to leave since firearms were not allowed on the property, according to the news release.
When Long Beach police officers responded to the scene, they determined Hodgson was intoxicated and “unwilling to cooperate with their commands as they tried to detain him.”
Alyssa Baeza, a public information officer for the Long Beach Police Department, said officers had to use a stun gun to subdue Hodgson. The Border Patrol agent “refused to provide employment information” when questioned by officers, according to Baeza, who said one officer suffered a minor injury during the scuffle.
A spokesperson for the L.A. County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Hodgson, could not immediately comment. Hodgson pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Friday and is due back in court next week.
Last month, Hodgson was involved in the controversial detention of Adrian Martinez, a U.S. citizen accused of interfering in immigration arrests at a Walmart in Pico Rivera, according to the law firm representing Martinez.
Agents rushed the 20-year-old Martinez and shoved him to the ground after he confronted them as they tried to arrest one of his co-workers at the shopping center. Surveillance and spectator video captured footage showing officers dragging Martinez to a truck.
While the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, publicly claimed Martinez punched a federal law enforcement officer during the fracas, charges filed by his office don’t reflect that and video from the scene does not show Martinez striking anyone. Ultimately, Martinez was charged with conspiracy to impede a federal law enforcement officer because he allegedly wheeled a trash can in the path of a Border Patrol vehicle, court records show.
Video from the scene does not clearly show Hodgson laying hands on Martinez. Unlike most agents who have descended on Los Angeles in recent weeks, Hodgson was not wearing a mask the day of Martinez’s arrest.
“The Border Patrol agent was arrested for an off-duty act of felony violence, which is indicative of the violence frequently seen in ICE/Border Patrol arrests,” read a statement from The Miller Law Firm, which represents Martinez. “The arrest confirms the fears many have right now regarding violent, unaccountable and unhinged federal agents roaming the streets. Masked agents are violently and lawlessly kidnapping and warehousing our community members — citizens and non-citizens alike.”
Martinez has denied all wrongdoing through his attorneys.
Hodgson was released on his own recognizance in the Long Beach case, but is not allowed to possess firearms or leave the state, according to the D.A.’s office.
If convicted as charged, Hodgson faces up to seven years in state prison, prosecutors said.
A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said in an email that the matter is “under investigation.” Neither DHS nor the Border Patrol responded to questions about Hodgson’s assignment or his role in widespread immigration raids across Southern California that have roiled residents and spawned several lawsuits. Earlier this week, a phalanx of federal agents led by Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement descended on MacArthur Park in a militaristic show of force that ultimately netted zero arrests.
While most L.A. elected officials have heavily criticized the Trump administration’s tactics in recent weeks, Hochman, a political independent, has noticeably tried to stay out of the political fray.
Times staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.