Key details of the shooting of prominent LGBTQ+ advocate Reverend Jorge Bautista by a federal agent on October 23, 2025, are revealed in images taken by San Francisco Bay Times contributing photographer Jerome Parmer. The shooting that injured Rev. Bautista, who is the Race Equity Coordinator at the Presbytery of San Francisco, happened near the bridge that connects Oakland to Coast Guard Island in Alameda. Rev. Bautista had joined other clergy for a peaceful vigil and protest of the Trump administration’s planned “surge” of federal immigration agents in the Bay Area.
The protest followed media reports on October 22 that over 100 federal agents, including from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, had been dispatched to Coast Guard Island and would begin arriving the next morning. Early the next day, Thursday, Rev. Bautista, Parmer, and several others gathered on Dennison Road in East Oakland for a hastily planned Sanctuary Faith Vigil. Already, caravans of masked agents had started arriving at the Coast Guard base. By 7 am, the group of protesters and participants in the vigil had grown large enough to attempt to block the bridge entrance.
Agents at that point began deploying pepper spray and flash-bang devices, some of which are seen strewn on the ground in Parmer’s images. Rev. Bautista—an advocate of the queer community who previously launched an LGBTQ+ affirming Spanish language service as part of his ministry initiatives—was among many who held aloft signs that read, in part: “No ICE or Troops in the Bay,” over an image of people holding hands.
While Rev. Bautista stood with his sign near the bridge, a federal agent stepped into this area that other media reports have described as a public Oakland intersection. Holding a large munitions launcher, the agent locked eyes with Rev. Bautista and pointed the launcher directly at him. Parmer, standing closely by, captured what happened next. The agent fired, hitting Rev. Bautista in the chin with caustic powder that filled his mouth and lungs. He struggled to breathe, and others around him began to feel sick too.
In this condition, with his chin bleeding, Rev. Bautista was rushed to Kaiser Permanente’s Oakland Medical Center. Doctors there told him he was lucky not to have had his chin broken. If more of the substance had entered into his eyes, they said, it could have permanently hurt his vision.
While recovering and recalling the incident, Rev. Bautista told KCRA News in Sacramento that he wished for the federal agents to see him, as clearly a member of the clergy, in hopes that his presence would deescalate rising tensions at the vigil and protest. As he explained, “I stepped in, not wanting to intentionally block the border patrol truck, but wound up in front of it, hoping to calm things down. And this agent—I saw him from a distance—coming at me, aiming at me. I was so convinced he was not going to pull the trigger. Next thing you know, I got hit in the chin with it. I didn’t even know what I got hit with. I just thought it was a metal canister of some sort.”
The details of Parmer’s images related to the shooting are striking. The agent is wearing, not only a highly equipped ballistic helmet, but also large protective glasses, a face guard, and a balaclava covering the lower face. There is a smudge mark at the crotch area, making it look like the individual had just wetted themselves—perhaps out of fear or the rush of adrenalin. The agent’s hands are tightly clenched on the weapon, with arm muscles appearing strained. In other images, additional agents and U.S. Coast Guard police look worried and concerned.
Just the day before, in a joint statement with Representative Kevin Mullin, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said: “Our state and local authorities may arrest federal agents if they break California law—and if they are convicted, the President cannot pardon them.” They characterized the reported mass immigration raids as an “appalling abuse of law enforcement power” and stated that federal agents do not have absolute immunity.
President Trump, of course, was nowhere close to the Bay Area. He was in Washington, D.C., at the White House—with its now demolished East Wing—preparing for a roundtable discussion. Later that day, on October 23, he called off the planned federal immigration enforcement “surge.” The entire operation was confirmed as canceled for the entire Bay Area on October 24.
As of this writing, it remains unclear if the Alameda District Attorney’s Office would agree to prosecute the federal agent who shot Rev. Bautista if the Oakland Police Department or another agency were to introduce a case. An ICE Use of Force Policy published in January 2021 includes an instruction that agents “shall not intentionally target the head, neck, groin, spine, or female breast” with less-lethal chemical munitions. While it is true that federal agents do not have absolute immunity, few over the years have been arrested and charged for state law violations.
The Congressional Church of San Mateo United Church of Christ issued the following statement about the incident and related issues on October 24:
“We are a community of faith committed to cultural justice. As a Sanctuary Congregation, we at the Congregational Church of San Mateo (UCC) stand in unwavering solidarity with our immigrant neighbors, friends, and members, and with all who show up peacefully for justice. Our faith calls us to respond not with fear, but with steadfast love and courageous action. We will continue to show up peacefully, faithfully, and boldly to protect the dignity of every person, to provide sanctuary and safety as best we can, and to embody the Gospel call to love our neighbor. We knew this day would probably come, but the reality of it has escalated quickly and hit close to home. Federal immigration agents have increased their presence in the Bay Area, bringing fear and violence into our communities. We are especially holding Rev. Jorge Bautista, former Associate Minister of CCSM and now Pastor of our sister congregation, College Heights UCC, in our prayers today. While standing in nonviolent witness in Alameda County, Rev. Bautista was shot in the face by a pepper-spray ball fired by a federal agent. We condemn this act of violence and the fear it seeks to sow. What is happening in our cities and neighborhoods is unacceptable. It contravenes constitutional protections and is contrary to the teachings of our faith. We join our partners in faith and justice in calling for a full and transparent investigation into this use of force. Accountability is essential for healing, and we pray for courage among our civic leaders to confront what has taken place and to uphold the rights and safety of every person in our community. As people of faith, we hold fast to the commandment of our tradition: ‘When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’~Leviticus 19:33–34
We will continue our commitment to welcome the stranger, show up in love, and work for peace and justice in San Mateo County, the Bay Area, and beyond.
In community, justice, and hope, Rev. Jessica Vacketta, Senior Minister Rev. Álvaro Durán, Minister of Community Life Congregational Church of San Mateo (UCC)” As for Parmer, he stands by his images and his decision to be present at the vigil and protest.
He told the San Francisco Bay Times, “I think documenting the atrocities that are being committed against our own people is an important thing to do.”
Constitutional Law, Not Martial Law
Published on November 6, 2025
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