Man in ICE-style gear arrested after tense encounter at Miami polling site

MIAMI, FLORIDA: A Florida man was arrested after allegedly showing up at a polling site dressed as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, causing fear among voters.

Danilo Alves Silva, 46, reportedly wore an ICE raid jacket, hat, tactical boots, sunglasses and a face mask at Miami Dade College’s Kendall Campus.

The incident happened Sunday at polling locations serving Brazilian nationals who were voting in Brazil’s presidential election. According to an arrest report cited by

ABC News, Silva walked around the polling locations dressed in ICE-style gear before detectives intervened.

Danilo Alves Silva allegedly scares Florida voters

The polling locations were not being used for US elections but for Brazilian nationals casting ballots in their country’s presidential election. The greater Miami area has a sizable Brazilian community.

According to the arrest report, people at the location were “clearly in fear” that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was interfering with their election and possibly deporting people.

Silva was detained by detectives from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Homeland Security Bureau after he allegedly responded aggressively when several people confronted him, according to CBS News.

Investigators later learned that Silva was not an ICE agent. He reportedly admitted this to detectives and described the outfit as a “prop costume,” saying he had purchased it on Amazon.

Silva told detectives that he initially arrived at the polling site wearing a jersey because he intended to cast his ballot.

He then went back to his car, changed into the ICE-style outfit and returned to the location to see how people would react. He maintained that he had not broken any laws.

Danilo Alves Silva faces multiple charges

The situation escalated after Silva was detained. While inside a police vehicle, he allegedly told detectives, “I will get you paid if you let me go,” and “We will pay you money,” according to the arrest report.

Silva was charged with prohibited intimidation or suppression of voters, unlawful use of a police badge or insignia, conspiracy to commit bribery, and threatening a public servant to influence their performance.

The case has drawn attention because the alleged incident involved a polling location and people who believed they were encountering an actual ICE agent.

Silva’s admission that he was wearing a costume came only after detectives intervened.

At a subsequent hearing, a judge appeared to address Silva’s decision to wear the ICE-style outfit at the polling site.

“Halloween will be the 31st,” the judge told Silva, according to NBC 6 footage. “It’s not now, and it’s not during their Brazilian elections.”

The incident comes about one month before the US midterm elections, adding an election-related dimension to the arrest.

Trump previously addressed ICE at polling sites

The arrest also comes as President Donald Trump has previously been asked about the possibility of federal immigration enforcement at voting locations during the midterms.

Trump previously refused to rule out sending ICE agents or National Guard troops to voting locations. “I do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections,” he told reporters in May.