In Austin, Texas, the shooting of a 28-year-old Venezuelan national by an ICE officer during a vehicle stop has become a flashpoint where immigration enforcement, legal advocacy, and political identity collide. A deleted social media post from the victim's attorney ignited a separate controversy, drawing condemnation from conservative voices even as the underlying facts of the shooting remain contested and under federal investigation. The case reminds us how quickly a single incident can become a vessel for the broader cultural and political tensions of an era — each side reading the same foot
TPUSA Spokesman Attacks ICE Shooting Victim's Attorney Over Deleted Kirk Post
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, was shot in the neck by an ICE officer during a vehicle stop in Austin, Texas.
They seem a perfect match
Mark
So what's actually at stake here beyond the social media post?
Mimi
A man was shot in the neck during an ICE operation, and now there's a fundamental disagreement about what happened that day. The deleted post is just the visible part of a much larger conflict.
Luke
Right, but we should be clear: the surveillance footage shows the pursuit, but it doesn't show the shooting itself. So we know there was a chase, but the moment that matters most—why the officer fired—is still not on video.
Mark
And the attorney's post—was she making a threat, or was it sarcasm that landed badly?
Mimi
She says it was misconstrued. The post questioned how someone resists being shot while invoking Kirk, but Kirk is alive. So it reads like dark commentary on the situation, not an actual threat.
Luke
That's the charitable reading. But Kolvet and others read it as something darker, and that interpretation has real consequences for how people see her client's case.
Mark
What does the judge's order actually mean for Garces Perez?
Mimi
He stays in the country until at least September 30. That hearing will determine whether he can be removed while the lawsuit proceeds.
Luke
And we don't know yet what the investigation will conclude about the shooting itself. That's still open.
Mark
So both sides are fighting in the court and in the court of public opinion simultaneously.
Mimi
Exactly. And the deleted post became a weapon in that second fight.
O Pulso
- Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan man working as a delivery driver, was shot in the neck by an ICE officer during a vehicle stop in Austin — and the competing accounts of what happened have yet to be reconciled.
- A deleted social media post from his attorney, appearing to reference the death of conservative figure Charlie Kirk, became its own controversy, giving political opponents a foothold to attack her credibility and character.
- Turning Point USA's Andrew Kolvet seized on the post to discredit the attorney and reframe the story around immigration enforcement, calling the pairing of lawyer and client a 'perfect match' in a pointed public statement.
- Surveillance footage shows federal vehicles pursuing Garces Perez with lights and sirens, while his attorney insists he was struck by an unmarked car and had no reason to know he was being pursued by agents.
- A federal judge has ordered Garces Perez to remain in the United States ahead of a September 30 hearing, as both the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations continue probing the circumstances of the shooting.
In Austin, Texas, the shooting of a 28-year-old Venezuelan national by an ICE officer during a vehicle stop has become a flashpoint where immigration enforcement, legal advocacy, and political identity collide. A deleted social media post from the victim's attorney ignited a separate controversy, drawing condemnation from conservative voices even as the underlying facts of the shooting remain contested and under federal investigation. The case reminds us how quickly a single incident can become a vessel for the broader cultural and political tensions of an era — each side reading the same footage, the same facts, through irreconcilable lenses.
A shooting in Austin, Texas has become the center of a widening legal and political storm. Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, was shot in the neck by an ICE officer during a vehicle stop. His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, has pushed back against the federal government's account, saying her client was working a DoorDash shift when an unmarked vehicle struck his car — and that he had no clear indication federal agents were in pursuit.
The dispute took a sharp political turn when a since-deleted post from Lincoln-Goldfinch's social media account, appearing to invoke Charlie Kirk in the context of the shooting, resurfaced and drew immediate condemnation. Her office acknowledged the post could be misread and said it was removed after internal review. Andrew Kolvet, a Turning Point USA spokesman and producer of Kirk's show, responded with a public broadside, defending ICE officers and dismissing both the attorney and her client in pointed terms.
Surveillance footage released by DHS shows federal vehicles with emergency lights and sirens pursuing Garces Perez's car before the incident — though the shooting itself was not captured on the footage reviewed publicly. Body-camera video from Austin police showed officers helping Garces Perez from his vehicle after the shooting, complicating earlier claims about how he was treated in the immediate aftermath.
DHS has maintained that Garces Perez is subject to a final removal order and that his work authorization expired in 2025, framing the stop as a lawful targeted enforcement action. Lincoln-Goldfinch's firm filed suit to block his removal, and a federal judge ordered him to remain in the country pending a hearing on September 30. The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations are both conducting inquiries, and the full account of what happened on that Austin street remains, for now, unresolved.
A dispute over a deleted social media post has intensified the already fraught legal battle surrounding a shooting in Austin, Texas. On Thursday, Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for Turning Point USA and executive producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show," attacked the attorney representing Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer during a vehicle stop. The confrontation centers on a now-deleted post from attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch that referenced conservative activist Charlie Kirk in a way that drew swift criticism from conservative circles.
Lincoln-Goldfinch's post, which has since been removed from her social media account, posed a question about resisting being shot while invoking Kirk's name. She later explained that her office determined the post could be misinterpreted and decided to take it down. "A post referencing the death of Charlie Kirk was removed from our account. We recognized the post could be misconstrued and that's why it came down," she said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "We have also addressed this issue internally."
Kolvet's response was pointed. He said Turning Point USA stood with the federal immigration officers involved in the incident and characterized the pairing of Lincoln-Goldfinch and her client as a "perfect match." He referenced Garces Perez's immigration status—noting he was a Venezuelan national with a final deportation order—and the high-speed chase that preceded the shooting. "We stand with our brave men and women of ICE who are defending American sovereignty and keeping American citizens safe," Kolvet told Fox News Digital. "While everyone is entitled to their defense, it's not surprising the quality of lawyer an illegal alien from Venezuela attracts who had a final notice of deportation before leading law enforcement on a dangerous high speed chase."
The legal and political dispute unfolds against a backdrop of conflicting accounts about what happened during the vehicle stop. Surveillance footage released Wednesday showed at least two federal law enforcement vehicles pursuing Garces Perez's car with emergency lights flashing and sirens sounding before the shooting occurred. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the video's authenticity. Lincoln-Goldfinch has challenged the federal government's narrative, saying her client was working as a DoorDash driver when an unmarked vehicle struck his car and that he did not initially realize federal agents were pursuing him. She has also disputed DHS's characterization of his immigration status and treatment after the shooting.
DHS maintained its position in a statement, saying Garces Perez is a Venezuelan national subject to a final removal order whose work authorization expired in 2025. The department said he was the subject of a targeted vehicle stop. "No amount of smears and false narratives will slow down ICE from doing its job to arrest illegal aliens from our communities," DHS said. Body-camera footage released by Austin police on Tuesday showed officers arriving immediately after the shooting and helping Garces Perez from his vehicle, contradicting an earlier claim that federal agents had pulled him out, though the videos did not capture the shooting itself.
The case has moved into federal court. Lincoln-Goldfinch's firm filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent Garces Perez's immediate removal from the country. A federal judge ordered that he remain in the United States so he can appear at a hearing scheduled for September 30. The circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation, with Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI leading the federal inquiry while Austin authorities have also reviewed evidence from the encounter. The investigation continues as the legal battle intensifies.
Citações Notáveis
We stand with our brave men and women of ICE who are defending American sovereignty and keeping American citizens safe.— Andrew Kolvet, Turning Point USA spokesman
A post referencing the death of Charlie Kirk was removed from our account. We recognized the post could be misconstrued and that's why it came down.— Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, attorney for Garces Perez
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