‘Ghostbusters’-playing clarinetist detained at ICE facility protest

VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — A man says his clarinet-playing wife is being held without bail on no specific charges after she was taken into custody Sunday during a protest across the street from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Oregon.

The woman’s husband, who asked Nexstar’s KOIN not to identify either of them for safety reasons, said his wife was tackled by federal agents in South Portland while she was playing her clarinet around 5 p.m.

“It is a beautiful party atmosphere. Everybody’s really excited. Then the band hits into ‘Ghostbusters’, and then at ‘Ghostbusters’, that’s when ICE start storming in,” the husband said. “Why are they targeting a clarinet player? A clarinet player standing on the sidewalk far away from the street, following instructions.”

Video of the incident obtained by KOIN shows the woman face down in the mud with her clarinet on the ground next to her.

Her husband got a call around 2 a.m. Sunday and was told his wife was in the Clark County Jail.

“We’re not seeing her. We don’t know when we’re going to see her again,” he said, adding that their 3-year-old “doesn’t know when we’re going to see her again.”

At 10 p.m. Monday, the clarinet player was listed in the Clark County Jail roster.

KOIN contacted the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for clarification on why the woman is in Washington’s Clark County, across state lines (the arrest was in Portland, Oregon) and why she appears to be held without bail. At this time, they have not responded.

On Monday night, the brass band she was with rallied outside the Clark County Jail in a different protest.

The clarinetist was one of three people detained by federal agents on Sunday. Her husband was awaiting information and answers.

“I hope this doesn’t dampen the spirit of Portland. I love my city,” he said. “And I think that that afternoon showed off the best of my city.”