Moment mayor allegedly followed stranger around and accused him of being an ICE agent… only to find out he’s actually a hairdresser

Kerman mayor Maria Pacheco is accused of following hairstylist Eric Bridges for about 25 minutes, boxing in his car and mistaking him for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Bridges has filed a complaint with Fresno police and the county district attorney, and says he wants to press charges; the episode matters amid Pacheco’s public opposition to immigration officers and her campaign for county supervisor.

Home surveillance footage reportedly shows Pacheco’s orange Nissan following Bridges to his sister’s home, where she allegedly said she was looking for ICE and that he looked like an agent. Bridges says she also described herself as “someone important”; Pacheco called the accusations “ridiculous” and said she would go to court if he pursued the matter. A separate video of Pacheco confronting an apparent ICE agent in Kerman received 98,000 Facebook views, and Bridges says he and his family fear reprisals.