An Arizona woman says U.S. Border Patrol agents threatened her with a Taser and knife after she demanded to know why she was stopped, according to a new video from the ACLU.
Clarisa Christiansen, a U.S. citizen, says three U.S. agents stopped her on a backcountry road 40 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. When Christiansen refused to exit until the agents could provide a reason for wanting to search her car, one agent allegedly threatened to use a Taser on her.
"He opens up my door and he says, 'Ma'am, do I need to tase you to get you out of your vehicle?'" Chistiansen recounts. "I was like, 'No, you don't need to do that. You're acting ridiculous. Why did you even pull me over?'"
An agent then allegedly pulled out a knife and threatened to cut Christiansen's seatbelt before taking her keys out of the ignition. Fearing for her own safety, Christiansen then exited the car.
Christiansen, along with several others, are currently petitioning the Department of Homeland Security to investigate so-called "unlawful roving patrol stops."
Allegations of corrupt Border Patrol agents are nothing new. Last year, a government watchdog found there was a sharp increase of corruption cases involving Border Patrol and immigration agents, Fox News reported at the time.
Common complaints against Border Patrol agents include unlawful search and seizure, racial profiling, use of excessive force, and destruction of personal property. We reached out to Border Patrol for comment and will update this post if we hear back.
Below is the ACLU video documenting Christiansen's full account of the incident.
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