The Department of Homeland Security responded to online criticism on Monday following a Border Patrol arrest in Santa Ana, California, over the weekend.

Border Patrol officers arrested Narciso Barranco on Saturday while he was on a landscaping job at a local IHOP, according to KTLA 5. After a video of the arrest went viral online, the officers faced criticism for how they handled the incident, to which DHS responded on social media on Monday.

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“He ASSAULTED federal law enforcement with a WEED WHACKER,” DHS said in a post on X. “Perhaps the mainstream media would like our officers to stand there and be mowed down instead of defending themselves? What a completely slanted portrayal of what actually happened.”

News outlets such as FOX 11 LA reported that officers pepper-sprayed Barranco, showing footage of officers repeatedly hitting Barranco, who had run into traffic wielding the weed whacker just moments before, as they tried to restrain him. Once Barranco was handcuffed, officers tried to put him in the backseat of an SUV but had to push him inside after he resisted. 

Barranco has also been described as a Tustin resident and a father to three U.S. Marines who have spoken out following their father’s arrest.

“I love what I did, and I love serving my country,” said Alejandro Barranco, one of Narciso Barranco’s sons and a Marine veteran, according to FOX 11. “I think my brothers do as well, and it just infuriates us that our own country is doing this to our own people. What we fight for is justice, and we need a better pathway to fix all of this.”

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According to his son, Narciso Barranco is undocumented and in the country illegally.

Following his arrest, his family set up a GoFundMe campaign for Narciso Barranco, which has already raised more than $95,000 and has a goal of $150,000.