FITCHBURG, MASS. — A violent roadside encounter between federal immigration agents and a Massachusetts man has erupted into a federal lawsuit, with the man alleging an ICE agent strangled him until he lost consciousness — while ICE insists he faked a seizure to disrupt an arrest.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, says Carlos Sebastian Zapata Rivera, 24, was driving his wife to her job at Burger King on Nov. 6 with their 1-year-old child in the car when officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pulled them over. As agents attempted to arrest his wife, video shows Zapata Rivera collapsing as bystanders shouted in fear for his safety. ICE, however, says his wife is an illegal immigrant accused of stabbing a coworker with scissors, and claims Zapata Rivera faked a seizure to interfere with the arrest.

According to the 19-page complaint, an ICE agent identified only as John Doe pressed his thumbs into Zapata Rivera’s neck, cutting off blood flow to his brain. “Squeezing the neck to stop blood flow to the brain is dangerous,” the lawsuit states. “The US Department of Homeland Security rightly classifies this action — often referred to as a chokehold and carotid restraints — as a form of deadly force.” The complaint continues: “Yet, on Nov. 6, 2025, a federal agent strangled [Zapata Rivera] unconscious,” adding that “Carlos did not present a threat to the agent or to any other person.”

ICE has pushed back hard, claiming Zapata Rivera faked a medical emergency, alleging the apparent seizure was staged to interfere with agents who were targeting his wife in connection with an alleged workplace stabbing. The lawsuit also alleges agents refused emergency medical care despite Zapata Rivera losing consciousness and exhibiting seizure-like movements while holding his child.

Represented by the ACLU of Massachusetts, Zapata Rivera is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and a jury trial. “All people in the United States have a constitutional right to be free from excessive force,” ACLU attorney Daniel McFadden said in a statement. “Yet this lawsuit alleges a federal agent compressed the blood vessels in his neck until he lost consciousness and suffered involuntary, seizure-like movements.” ICE has not released body-camera footage or identified the agent accused in the suit.