01.28.26 // Dilley, TX

They sent state troopers to harm us. We were chanting, documenting, blowing bubbles, singing. The state troopers lined up in front of us in full riot gear, baton in hand. There was one directly in front of me. I made eye contact with him upon arrival. He had a smirk on his face.

They began pushing against the crowd with their batons. It took a few tries to nock people down. I grabbed the baton of the one in front of me. I griped onto it and guided it best I could so he couldn't hit anyone. It was working. He got frustrated, angrily instructed me to let go. I complied with the order because I didn't want any guns to be drawn. He shoved me to the floor. They began firing canisters with some type of white powder. I felt someone pull me up, and I began running from the chaos. Some powder got in my lungs and eyes but it wasn't too bad at first. I saw redacted in the crowd, eyes closed, unsure where to go. I rushed back into the powder, so thick it was getting difficult to see. Right before I got to them, they fired another canister near them. The white powder covered their hair and face. I was squinting my eyes going through the clouds of powder, using what vision I had left to grab onto them, mark a quick path in my head, and lead them out. By this point I couldn't see and was struggling to breathe. We began calling for help, gasping for air in between. A few people began calling out for help with us. We got away from the crowd and waited for help. A medic came to assist. I couldn't open my eyes. I was struggling to breathe.

Around 4:30pm

More started to burn. I tried to clear it out and the pain intensified. I think some of the powder is still stuck in my nose. My hands are also starting to burn again.

4:47pm

My head is starting to feel some pressure again. I'm not sure what these chemicals are going to do to us. We inhaled quite a bit of it.