CHARLOTTE, N.C. (July 20, 2026) — Two Charlotte mothers are seeking accountability after federal immigration agents followed them, boxed in their car, drew weapons, and threatened them at gunpoint before arresting them for trying to observe and document their conduct during Operation Charlotte’s Web.
Tatyana Reisini and Kristen Roos had been communicating with other local parents and neighbors who were worried about the surge of immigration agents in their area on November 17, 2025, when the encounter happened. They were detained for hours and criminally charged with assaulting a federal agent. The U.S. Attorney’s Office voluntarily dismissed the charges roughly three and a half months later.
Today, Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) initiated the process of seeking accountability on behalf of Reisini and Roos under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies involved. The FTCA allows individuals to sue the United States for injuries caused by the unlawful conduct of federal agents.
Watch a video about the incident here.
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Both women suffered physical, psychological, and emotional harm from their arrests and the aftermath, according to the document. They were threatened, chased, assaulted at gunpoint, handcuffed, and detained on baseless charges, then spent months securing legal counsel, gathering evidence, and living under the fear of a federal criminal trial.
Reisini and Roos, worried that they were being pursued by federal agents angered by their witnessing the agents roam Charlotte neighborhoods, called 911 for help. While still on the phone with 911, Reisini and Roos were blocked by agents on a dead-end street. An agent proceeded to smash the driver’s side window with the barrel of his rifle, which was pointed directly at Reisini. The window was smashed, leaving glass scattered inside the vehicle and on Reisini’s body. Both women were zip-tied and held in custody for hours. Roos was just 10 days post-surgery at the time of her arrest. Compounding the trauma, video of the assault and arrest spread widely online, garnering nearly nine million views on Facebook alone. Then-Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino also publicly celebrated the arrests on X.
“This left Tatyana and Kristen deeply worried about their own safety and the safety of their families,” the filing states. “The entire experience left both women feeling vulnerable and exposed, fearful that there could be further retaliation against them from any of the people who saw the video on social media, and who saw Bovino’s celebration of their arrest.”
Their arrests took place during Operation Charlotte’s Web, when DHS sent a surge of federal immigration agents into the Charlotte area beginning November 15, 2025, for nearly a week. It was the first time a Southern city had been targeted at that scale, and it quickly became a campaign centered on generating terror and fear across the city. Immigrant families kept children home from school and stayed inside, and many Charlotte residents responded by rallying around their immigrant neighbors.
“The federal government must be held accountable for the abusive and unlawful conduct of its agents,” said Janki Kaneria, Counsel for Justice System Reform at SCSJ. “The video of the agents’ outrageous behavior here speaks for itself. This notice is the first step in seeking some measure of accountability.”
Holding federal agents accountable for unlawful, violent tactics is critical not only for Reisini and Roos but for every community that could face similar operations in the future. Their claims against the agents include assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, and violations of their First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights.
“What our clients experienced was terrifying and completely unjustified,” said Jake Sussman, Chief Counsel for Justice System Reform at SCSJ. “The behavior of these agents, behavior that was endorsed by the U.S. government in the moment, was abusive, bullying, and dangerous. We are proud of our clients for their courage in standing up for themselves and others who have suffered this type of abuse.”
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Southern Coalition for Social Justice came together in 2007 to give Black, Brown, and low-income people better resources in the fight for justice across the South. We are lawyers, social scientists, and communications professionals working to dismantle racism and oppression in the criminal legal system, in our environment, and at the ballot box. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.