A two-minute video of an ICE arrest in Hamilton, Ohio, has turned a Friday morning operation into a national argument about force, family and who gets believed when the camera is rolling. The footage, shared thousands of times, shows officers smashing a car window, using a Taser and dragging a man from his vehicle while a child pleads with them to stop. The Butler County Sheriff's Office says officers were carrying out a targeted arrest of a man with a criminal record who refused to comply. His family says the video shows something very different: a father of five pulled from his car in front of his children.

Key Points

• Alberto Lira Razo, 39, was arrested on Friday, November 6, 2026, in a targeted ICE operation in Hamilton, Ohio, assisted by Butler County sheriff's detectives. He remains jailed on an ICE detainer.
• A two-minute video, posted by TelevisaUnivision journalist Edwin Pitti, shows an officer breaking the car window and a child telling officers: "I am a child. I am a child. Get off of me."
• The sheriff's office says Lira Razo was targeted because of a criminal history including assault on a police officer, and charged him with obstructing official business and resisting arrest.
• The Department of Homeland Security described him as a "criminal illegal alien from Mexico" and warned that violence against law enforcement "will not be tolerated."
• His wife, Moriah Lira, says he is the family's sole provider, disputes the assault charge, and says officers punched her 14-year-old daughter. A hearing is set for 8 a.m. on November 12.

What Happened

Officers arrived at Lira Razo's home in Hamilton shortly after 8:45 a.m. on Friday, November 6, as part of a targeted operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, assisted by detectives from the Butler County Sheriff's Office. According to the sheriff's office, officers ordered Lira Razo out of his vehicle. When he refused to comply, they broke a window, used a Taser on him, handcuffed him and carried him to a patrol car.

The arrest was captured on video and posted online by TelevisaUnivision journalist Edwin Pitti. The clip shows an officer shattering the vehicle's window. A child's voice is heard again and again, saying: "I am a child. I am a child. Get off of me." The child also says the officer threw a punch and warned the child not to touch his gun.

Background and Context

Hamilton is a city of about 63,000 people in Butler County, in southwestern Ohio, roughly 20 miles north of Cincinnati. The sheriff's office has worked alongside federal immigration officers before, and the arrest was described as a targeted operation, not a random stop.

The sheriff's office says Lira Razo was targeted because of a criminal history that includes assault on a police officer, assault and disorderly conduct. His wife disputes that account. She says her husband is a hard-working father of five and the family's sole provider, and she questions the assault-on-an-officer charge. Court records show that a September 2012 felony charge of assault on a police officer was reduced to a misdemeanor nine days later.

ICE Arrest in Hamilton, Ohio: What the Video Shows

The most contested moments in the video last only seconds. An officer strikes the car window until it shatters. Officers pull Lira Razo from the vehicle. A Taser is used. A child, heard but mostly out of frame, tells officers to get off and says the officer threw a punch and warned the child not to touch his gun.

The sheriff's office has not disputed that the window was broken or that a Taser was used. Its position is that those steps followed Lira Razo's refusal to get out of the vehicle, and that the arrest was lawful. The Department of Homeland Security backed that view in blunt terms, calling Lira Razo a "criminal illegal alien from Mexico" and adding: "Violence against ICE officers, or any law enforcement personnel, will not be tolerated." The family tells a different story. Moriah Lira says officers punched her 14-year-old daughter in front of her 4-year-old son. That claim has not been independently confirmed.

Reactions and Quotes

The Department of Homeland Security has defended the operation, describing Lira Razo as a "criminal illegal alien from Mexico" and warning: "Violence against ICE officers, or any law enforcement personnel, will not be tolerated." The statement did not address the family's claim that a child was punched.

The Butler County Sheriff's Office says its detectives assisted ICE in a targeted operation, that Lira Razo refused to comply with orders to leave his vehicle, and that officers then broke the window, used a Taser, handcuffed him and took him into custody. The office charged him with obstructing official business and resisting arrest and says he remains in the Butler County Jail on an ICE detainer. Moriah Lira has spoken publicly in his defence.

Why It Matters

The Hamilton arrest lands in the middle of a wider argument about how immigration enforcement is carried out in American neighbourhoods. Federal agents and local sheriff's deputies working together, force used on a residential street, children watching, and a video that reaches millions within hours: each of those elements has featured in other recent cases, and each raises the same questions about tactics, accountability and trust. When a sheriff's office assists federal immigration operations, it ties local policing to federal enforcement in the eyes of residents.

What Happens Next

Lira Razo's next court appearance is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Thursday, November 12, when he is due to answer the two misdemeanor charges of obstructing official business and resisting arrest. The ICE detainer means he will remain in the Butler County Jail while those charges and any immigration proceedings are dealt with.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Alberto Lira Razo?
He is a 39-year-old father of five from Hamilton, Ohio, arrested on November 6, 2026, in a targeted ICE operation. His family says he is their sole provider; the authorities say he was targeted because of a criminal history.

Why was he arrested?
Officers carried out a targeted operation at his home. The sheriff's office says he refused to get out of his vehicle, so officers broke a window, used a Taser and handcuffed him.

What does the viral video show?
The two-minute video, posted by journalist Edwin Pitti, shows an officer shattering the car window and officers pulling Lira Razo from the vehicle. A child can be heard saying: "I am a child. I am a child. Get off of me."

What has his family said?
His wife, Moriah Lira, says officers punched her 14-year-old daughter in front of her 4-year-old son, disputes the assault-on-an-officer charge, and has raised $160 of a $4,500 goal for a lawyer.

When is his next court date?
His hearing on the two first-degree misdemeanor charges is set for 8 a.m. on Thursday, November 12. He remains in the Butler County Jail on an ICE detainer.

Related coverage: Seattle prosecutors stop defending many ICE cases as habeas flood grows and Dearborn ICE arrests: 3 detained in Michigan as federal agents skip local notice.