By Jerome Parmer –
(Editor’s Note: The November 6, 2025, issue of the San Francisco Bay Times featured a powerful photo by Jerome Parmer on the cover showing federal agents shooting LGBTQ+ advocate Reverend Jorge Bautista during a protest that took place on the morning of October 23, 2025, in front of the entrance to Coast Guard Base Alameda. Here, Parmer shares more, both in words and images, about what happened.)
On October 23, two weeks after a federal judge ordered the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency to stop using less-lethal projectiles, chemical irritants, and violent force against protestors exercising their first amendment rights, we saw yet another preplanned assault unfold right here in the Bay Area. As previously reported in the San Francisco Bay Times, the CBP attacked a local LGBTQ advocate, Reverend Jorge Bautista, as well as others gathered in front of the Alameda Coast Guard Island station to protest the deployment of ICE agents.
What happened over the ensuing three minutes was an egregious violation of constitutional rights, and a disregard of federal law. It was a mere three minutes from the moment the caravan arrived until the assaults began. Agents used munitions including flash bang grenades, chemical weapons (bear spray, pepper spray), and pepper projectiles fired from a modified M320 grenade launcher.
Earlier federal judicial action intended to prevent further crimes by government agents was set in motion after an Illinois pastor was shot in the face with a pepper ball munition. The CBP gave no heed to the preliminary injunction. This injunction has been upheld very recently by Federal Judge Sarah Lewis. The court additionally determined that Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino lied during a prior court hearing about being hit by a rock prior to tossing a tear gas canister into a crowd of local residents in a suburb of Chicago. Perjury charges have yet to be filed.
Numerous criminal cases brought against protestors by federal prosecutors were dismissed due to video and photographic evidence proving agents lied about the circumstances. Recent video clips have emerged showing a federal ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agent pointing a gun at peaceful protestors in Chicago, which is illegal and constitutes assault. The ability to enforce laws and hold federal agents accountable is limited. How long will the criminal actions of these federal agencies continue?
The following series of timestamped images show the violence and assaults play out in a span of roughly four minutes, consistent with prior intent and planning.
Did the protests play a part in the apparent deal brokered by Silicon Valley tech titans to keep Trump from deploying ICE in the Bay Area? Not likely, as the prevailing consensus is their big money was the driver. Yet the lawlessness perpetrated by Trump’s modern-day Gestapo continues unabated in our country. How long will it be before it resurfaces here in our community? How long will it take before they turn their attention from those with different color skin, to those with different lifestyles? How long will it be before they point their weapons at the rest of us, and use them with lethal rounds?
Members of the Bay Area LGBTQ community need to be aware, informed, vigilant, and active in working peacefully against these dark forces.
Jerome Parmer is an Oakland-based photographer who has photographed political, LGBTQ+, music, and other events in the Bay Area. Follow his current work on Instagram @drj_oakland
1. 6:56:50 am – Protestors walked along the Embarcadero Street crosswalk
in front of the entrance to the Coast Guard Base Alameda.
2. 7:03:24 am – Coast Guard security detail remained calm throughout the morning events, directing traffic through and around the protestors.
3. 7:08:44 am – Reverend Bautista and other clergy stood vigil across the street from the Coast Guard base entrance.
4. 7:13:27 am – A Border Patrol caravan of 11 vehicles arrived, gunning
engines and with windows up, and stopped just short of the pedestrians/
protestors in the crosswalk.
5. 7:13:57 am – A CBP agent in the lead vehicle engaged with protestors briefly, and did not warn that use of force would ensue.
6. 7:14:34 am – The lead CBP agent retrieved a chemical weapon (bear spray).
7. 7:16:37 am – Multiple flash bang grenades were deployed in the middle of he crowd; visible smoke clouds hung in the air.
8. 7:16:43 am – The CBP agent advanced towards Reverend Bautista, moving onto the public right-of-way from federal property marked by the blue boundary line.
9. 7:16:44 am – A pepper cloud was released as the grenade launcher projectile struck Reverend Bautista on the face from point-blank range.
10. 7:16:45 am – Reverend Bautista turned away in pain, bleeding from the face due to the impact of the munitions’ projectile.
11. 7:17:18 am – Smoke from various deployed munitions lingered in the air as the last of the caravan passed through the crowd.
12. 7:39:16 am – Coast Guard security detail calmly observed continued protest activity about twenty minutes after the violence perpetrated by the federal agents had ended.
Published on November 20, 2025
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