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‘Batman vs ICE’: Caped man confronts Santa Clara council over Super Bowl security, video viral; watch
Masked protestor dressed as Batman storms public meeting at Santa Clara council to demand limits on cooperation with ICE ahead of Super Bowl LX
An unidentified man dressed as Batman dramatically interrupted a joint meeting of the Santa Clara City Council, city officials and the Santa Clara Stadium Authority on January 27, lambasting local leaders for “insufficient action” regarding cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In a speech laced with several curse words, the Batman accused the council of being “a council of cowards” and “traitors” for allowing federal enforcement activities in the region after the recent shooting of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Super Bowl 60 is scheduled to take place at Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium, and ICE has openly described its role at prior Super Bowl events, which have contributed to the worries expressed during the discussion.
Read more: Will ICE show up at Super Bowl 2026? DHS shares details
“You have had months to prepare for this upcoming event”
During the confrontation, the masked speaker demanded that the council affirmatively ban cooperation between city resources and ICE operations. He warned that hundreds of federal agents a
“What the f**k are we doing here? You have had months to prepare for this upcoming event,” he said at the podium, gesturing at officials. He stated that the majority of the council should have taken steps and protections against ICE months earlier, adding that councilmembers would be betraying their voters if they failed to take quick action.
The speaker charged that by allowing the federal government to "walk all over" the city during the national sporting event, city officials were endangering the lives of their citizens.
“Can any one of you go home to your children and tell them that you did everything you could to protect their classmates, to protect their grandparents, to protect them?” he said. “I don’t think you can.”
He reminds the council that they are responsible for protecting residents of the country, “legal or not.” He states that the council needs to “do something” by refusing to share data, facilities or law enforcement support with ICE, “before more people die. ”
He said, “I’m not begging you. I’m f**king demanding that you act with some semblance of a f**king spine. Do something.”
Read more: San Jose police shooting: Cops engaged in massive shootout; videos emerge
ICE have participated in the Super Bowls before
After Corey Lewandowski, a security adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, appeared on "The Benny Show" in October and criticized the NFL's choice of Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny as the NFL halftime performer.
Bad Bunny is also an American citizen. Lewandowski's comments caused worry among Super Bowl attenders over the increased ICE activity since last year.
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations division has not previously conducted immigration operations at the Super Bowl.
However, they have frequently participated in Super Bowl security operations and other large-scale sporting events, typically focusing on issues such as human trafficking and counterfeit merchandise.
