Remaining workers describe raid

12:05 update

The ICE raid on Swift & Co.’s Greeley plants may be about over. Greeley Police Jerry Garner said ICE agents have one more van to load with captured workers and plan to finish around 1 p.m.

Cynthia Chaparro began work at the plant about three weeks ago and was inside the plant at the time of the raid. She said the workers had just gone on break when the raid began. Some workers tried to run when the saw agents, but agents captured them and held them down on the floor of the cafeteria, Chaparro said. She said the remaining workers have been talking about quitting in hopes of shutting down Swift. She estimated about 300 people had been taken from the plant. Another worker, Kathleen Perez, said about half the plant’s workforce was gone.

The scene outside the Swift & Co. beef packing plant has swung back and forth in intensity. A crowd of protesters has shouted at Greeley police, cars that appear to belong to the plant or anyone deemed connected to the ICE raid carried out at the plant this morning.

There was a tense five minutes when an ICE supporter arrived and called from the fence line to ICE agents: “I support what you’re doing, and a lot of people support what you’re doing.”

Protesters ascended on the man and chased him toward H Street. Greeley police followed as the crowd shouted threats against the man and his family. The man, who identified himself only as “Gary,” said he thought there would be more people on site to support ICE and was surprised there weren’t any.

Greeley police officers brought a cruiser to get the man out of the area.