72-Year-Old Woman Plans Legal Action After ICE Agent Sprays Her During Inwood Operation

A New York City woman says she plans to pursue legal action after a federal immigration agent sprayed her with a chemical irritant while she was recording an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Manhattan.

Linda Wolff, 72, was filming federal agents in Inwood on July 30 when the confrontation unfolded. Video from the scene shows Wolff holding up her phone as a masked agent approaches her. Moments later, the agent sprays an irritant toward her face at close range.

The encounter has attracted attention because Wolff maintains that she was observing and protesting the federal operation rather than physically interfering with agents.

Wolff said events began after two vehicles being used by federal agents appeared to have flat tires. A tow truck arrived, and Wolff confronted the driver about assisting ICE. Shortly afterward, a federal agent approached her.

“He was walking toward me, and I was like, ‘He’s not going to mace me,’” Wolff recalled.

Seconds later, the spray was deployed.

Wolff said her sunglasses provided some protection for her eyes, but the chemical irritant still covered her hair, face, lips, clothing and hands. Despite the encounter, she continued recording what was happening around her.

Separate footage shows Wolff standing on the sidewalk with her phone as an agent approaches. In video she recorded herself, an agent can be heard telling her to back up before spraying her. After Wolff says she has just been Maced, the agent responds that he would do it again.

Days later, Wolff said she was continuing to experience burning in her eyes and sensitivity to light.

Wolff Says She Will Keep Documenting ICE

Wolff is among volunteers who monitor immigration enforcement activity, document federal operations and alert residents when ICE agents are reported in neighborhoods.

By the day after the Inwood encounter, she had returned to what volunteers call “ICE watch,” this time in Elmhurst. She said the incident would not discourage her from continuing to observe federal immigration operations.

“This isn’t violent. We’re not violent,” Wolff said.

Federal officials, however, presented a sharply different account of what happened around the operation.

The Department of Homeland Security said ICE personnel deployed OC spray while trying to contain what the agency described as an unruly and combative crowd surrounding officers who were recovering a government-owned vehicle. DHS also alleged the vehicle had been vandalized earlier that day.

Federal officials said individuals refused instructions to move out of the way and accused members of the group of attempting to obstruct law enforcement.

DHS maintained that officers gave people ample notice to clear the street before using force. The department said agents acted to protect law enforcement personnel and used what it described as the minimum amount of force necessary.

Wolff disputes the suggestion that she was physically interfering with agents. She has said she did not touch officers or intentionally block their work.

Video shows her holding her phone as the agent approaches and sprays her, but the broader circumstances surrounding the crowd and instructions from officers remain disputed.

Legal Action Could Follow

Wolff has argued that she was exercising her right to protest and record government officials in a public place.

Public interest attorney Kaivan Shroff, who commented on the video, said people have a constitutional right to film federal officers in public spaces but do not have a right to obstruct a law enforcement operation.

Wolff said she is now pursuing legal action. Civil rights attorney John Burris has been identified as representing her and has criticized the use of pepper spray during the encounter.

The incident also drew criticism from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who called the pepper-spraying of the 72-year-old woman “outrageous” and connected the confrontation to broader concerns about the conduct of federal immigration agents.

In Inwood, City Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa distributed know-your-rights information to residents following the incident. She said fear surrounding immigration enforcement has become significant in the majority-immigrant community and described the July 30 confrontation as an unusual escalation.

For Wolff, the encounter has not ended her involvement.

She says she intends to continue documenting ICE activity and joining protests while her legal options move forward.

The footage establishes one important part of what happened: a federal agent approached Wolff and sprayed her while she was recording. What remains contested is whether people surrounding the operation were obstructing officers and whether deploying the chemical irritant was justified.

Wolff maintains she was exercising protected rights. Federal officials maintain agents were responding appropriately to a combative crowd while securing a government vehicle.

Those competing accounts could now move from Inwood Street to a courtroom if Wolff follows through with legal action.