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January 15, 2026

Protester in Santa Ana Is Left Permanently Blind by "Less Lethal" Round Fired by Federal Agent
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In California, 21-year-old Kaden Rummler says he was left permanently
blind in one eye and narrowly avoided death, after a federal agent fired
a crowd control weapon into his face during an anti-ICE protest in Santa
Ana last week. Rummler had joined protests against the killing of Renee
Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, when a federal agent fired a "less
lethal" round at close range that struck his left eye. He was then
dragged by an agent across a plaza, his face covered in blood, as he
complained, "I can't breathe." He says he pleaded for agents to call an
ambulance as they mocked him about his injured eye. He ultimately
underwent six hours of surgery to remove plastic, glass and metal from
his face and skull, with one piece narrowly missing his carotid artery.
Rummler says doctors told him it was a "miracle" he survived.


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