"The agents, court records show, were also filming high-quality footage of the arrest operation, which they would later post to social media.

The tactics, a federal judge later said, were part of ICE's "vindictive effort" to "impose extrajudicial punishment".

"It was like they were trying to make a movie," Cerna said in a recent interview, speaking publicly for the first time about his arrest.

"They were like the bullies in high school taking photos to humiliate me ... and to prove a point " to say, if you say anything against what we're doing, there will be consequences."

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Examples are necessary to intimidate protestors into submission.