Online Rumor Of ICE Raids In East Bay Leads To Panic
RICHMOND (CBS) – An online rumor that went viral led to panic in the East Bay Wednesday afternoon when an unsubstantiated claim that federal immigration officers were conducting operations in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties began to spread.
Around 12:30 p.m., numerous social media users began to copy and paste a detailed statement claiming that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had set up a checkpoint at a retail store in Richmond, advising friends to avoid the area and tell everyone they knew.
The statement also indicated that the original poster was "getting word" of ICE agents at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, and that a sighting of two ICE vehicles had been "confirmed" near the West Oakland BART station at 11:30 a.m.