Retired firefighter assaulted at anti-ICE rally; suspect claims stolen valor
By Rachael Perry
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BOCA RATON, Florida (WPBF) — A retired firefighter said he was assaulted by a man while protesting against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
WPBF 25 News spoke with the victim, Luis Garcia, a retired Boynton Beach firefighter, who was attending the anti-ICE protest in Boca Raton on Saturday. Garcia said the suspect, Thomas Landry, aggressively approached him, accusing him of stolen valor.
“He immediately came up to me, I’m holding an American flag, and he’s immediately spitting out, screaming, you’re not a real fireman. Where do you work? Where do you work?” Garcia said.
Garcia maintains that Landry punched him in the chest before Garcia can be heard telling nearby protesters to video the incident and call 911.
“That’s a video segment you see. And then I’m backing up, I just tell him to back up, and he just comes at me again, swinging for my head, but I turned slightly. So he managed to knock my firefighter helmet off my head,” he said.
Before approaching Garcia, the police report shows Landry is accused of knocking a sign out of a woman’s hand.
Garcia told WPBF 25 News he has since seen comments of people asking why he didn’t defend himself.
“We were right next to a moving lane of traffic. That would have been pretty stupid. He could have gotten hurt. I could have gotten hurt. We both could have gotten killed,” Garcia said.
At the time of the incident, Garcia was wearing his firefighter helmet and an International Association of Fire Fighters t-shirt. He said Landry continued to yell at him while accusing him of stolen valor.
“He felt it was within his right to attack me because he was also starting to scream stolen valor, stolen valor. He and his wife were yelling at us, calling us illegals, saying we had stolen valor. And I get it. He thought I was just some fat middle-aged guy who bought a helmet online and a t-shirt,” Garcia said.
He explained his T-shirt is from the 2020 campaign supporting former president Joe Biden.
“My belief system is that if I served in the U.S. Marine Corps, I have the right to stand there with an American flag. If I’m a U.S. citizen, I have nothing to be afraid of. If I spent 28 years saving lives, protecting property, helping people, and going into burning buildings, I certainly have earned the right to wear my retiree helmet, even at a political protest,” he told WPBF.
Garcia said Landry seemed fixated on his shirt and couldn’t let it go.
“I’m doing nothing wrong. I’m not impersonating anybody. But he was sure in his mind that there’s no way I could be a real firefighter or a retired firefighter,” he said.
While the incident was shocking, Garcia said he’s dealt with similar issues in the past.
“I’ve encountered Trump supporters who spit in my face, tear my sign out of my hand, and push me, trying to get me to fall to the ground, but it’s always been face-to-face. This is a weird dynamic now that he came up behind me,” he said.
Garcia said he’s been protesting against the Trump administration for several years.
“I think just in the last year, I’ve seen an increase of more people being aggressive and confrontational,” he said. “Just ignore us. If you don’t agree with us, you can shoot the bird, you can say Go Trump, whatever. Drive by. You don’t need to park and sneak up behind us. But I’ve definitely seen a dramatic shift in the last year.”
Deputies with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office were nearby and arrested Garcia, who has now been charged with two misdemeanors. PBSO, which was nearby, was contacted and Landry was arrested on suspicion of battery of Garcia and a woman.
Garcia said he didn’t sustain any injuries but says the incident left him shaken and even feeling a little sorry for Landry.
“In five, 10, 15 years, we’re all going to look back and think about whatever our experience was. Maybe some of us will be proud that we stood up for either side, whatever you believe in on either side. Maybe some people will look back and say with shame that maybe they were misled. And maybe somebody will realize I shouldn’t have attacked other people. At the end of the day, we’re all human beings. We’re all Americans,” Garcia said.
Landry was booked in the Palm Beach County jail and has since bonded out.
A spokesperson for the PBSO said the majority of participants complied with lawful directives and remained within designated protest areas, and no widespread issues involving traffic disruption, property damage, or disorderly conduct were observed.
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