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Naples woman observing an immigration sweep pulled out of her car and arrested on trumped-up charge
By Cynthia Wolfe
LABELLE, Fla. — Aug. 18, 2025 — For Naples resident Hillary Hogue, what began as an afternoon drive in the countryside ended with being injured by immigration authorities and thrown in jail.
Hogue has been volunteering in Immokalee with local immigrant support networks, giving rides to medical appointments and other assistance to community residents who fear leaving their homes because of the heavy immigration enforcement presence. On Friday, she drove to LaBelle to better familiarize herself with the area.
She had pulled into what she believed was a public parking lot in a small industrial development. There were no signs identifying what the lot is used for and no signs indicating "No trespassing." The building in the lot consists of a series of open bays, one being used apparently for boat storage. The others appear as though they might be used by mechanics
Hillary Hogue
for working on cars and engines. There was nothing indicating that the area might be in use as an airstrip.
As she pulled into the parking lot, she observed Florida Highway Patrol, Border Patrol, ICE, Fish and Wildlife, and Hendry County sheriff’s vehicles surrounding at least four young men who appeared to be Latino laborers.
She managed to record on her phone some of what happened next.
An individual clad in black pants and a black t-shirt with the words “State Trooper” stenciled on his vest approached her car. He demanded to know what she was doing there. She identified herself as a volunteer advocate for members of the immigrant community, and she asked for his badge number. He replied, “I don’t have a badge number.”
A Florida Highway Patrol officer then approached her car, informed her she was going to be detained, and ordered her out of her vehicle. Before she had the opportunity to comply, the officer grabbed her by the arm and yanked her out of her vehicle. He kept telling her to "Stop resisting," though the video shows no evidence of resistance.
Bruising on Hogue's arm caused by authorities.
She was initially told she was under arrest for illegally entering an airport facility, which is a felony. That charge was later dropped, perhaps because there was no signage indicating it was an official facility of any kind, much less an airstrip. The felony charge was replaced with “resisting arrest.”
Hogue was handcuffed with her arms behind her back and placed in the back of a scorching hot patrol vehicle parked in full sun in 90-degree heat. After more than an hour, she was transported to the Hendry County Jail in LaBelle. She was placed in a holding cell before being released around 11:30 p.m.
Her vehicle was impounded, and she had to pay $500 to get it back.
She was left with visible bruising on her arms, neck, and side, which she documented in photographs.
Despite the arrest, Hogue has no plans to stop her advocacy for the immigrant community under attack.
Although immigration sweeps in the U.S. are often justified as efforts to target the “worst of the worst” — violent offenders, gang members, and drug traffickers — in practice the results suggest something very different. Reports and community accounts indicate that authorities frequently cast a much wider net, detaining people whose only “offense” is appearing Latino. Critics argue this pattern reflects a push to meet arrest quotas rather than a careful focus on genuine threats, raising serious concerns about racial profiling, civil liberties, and the erosion of trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement.
Hogue is scheduled to appear in court in Hendry County, where her attorney is expected to seek dismissal of the charge.
Acting without Hogue’s involvement, local supporters have set up a fund to assist with her legal defense. It can be found here.