Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a social media influencer known online as “Richard LA,” has had a federal claim filed on his behalf seeking $50 million one year after federal agents shot him while attempting to arrest him.
The claim was announced Tuesday by civil rights attorney Denise Gastelum, who described it as a precursor to a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with other agencies involved in Parias’ arrest.
Parias was arrested and charged with assault on a federal officer by federal prosecutors in October 2025, who claimed he used his vehicle as a weapon. A federal judge later dismissed the case late last year, finding that Parias had been denied access to his attorneys while being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
Parias, a popular social media influencer on TikTok and community journalist, was shot in the elbow during the arrest in South L.A. According to attorneys, the round also struck a U.S. marshal in the hand.
In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said: “DHS strongly disagrees with the decision to dismiss this case for assaulting a federal officer. All illegal aliens in detention have access to their lawyers. No one is denied access to counsel.”
The federal government is in the process of appealing the assault case’s dismissal.
Gastelum criticized the actions of federal agents, saying, “What we see through body camera… is the indiscriminate attack by an ICE agent… shooting at a human being who’s in his vehicle with his hands up, simply asking, ‘Why are you detaining me?'”
Parias, a Mexican national, remains in custody despite charges being dismissed by a federal judge, an action his attorneys claim is unlawful.
“He should not be detained… whatever criminal charges they brought against him have been dismissed,” said Carlos Jurado, Parias’ immigration attorney.
The federal government’s appeal of the assault cases’ dismissal is now in the hands of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Oral arguments are scheduled to begin next Friday, with a decision expected sometime in November.
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