The media is under fire for portraying a raid on a cartel-linked illegal gambling ring in Idaho as a raid on some innocent family event.
Speaking with CBS News, Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue made it clear that the raid last October was part of a four-year-long FBI investigation into cartel activity.
“We knew there was cartel involvement in this operation,” he said. “We knew that to be true. [It’s] why we went in.”
But that didn’t stop the network from portraying the raid as a “militarized raid on a community horse-racing event”:
A massive, militarized raid on a community horse-racing event near Boise, Idaho in October left children crying, families zip-tied, and a community shaken over five non-violent gambling arrests. Parents say kids were threatened at gunpoint and detained for hours, while officials… pic.twitter.com/Aho4UVUjdR
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 11, 2026
In fairness, the raid occurred at a race track near Boise, where families had indeed gathered to watch horses race.
However, critics say that the question shouldn’t be why an alleged “family event” was raided, but rather why families were present in the first place at an event involving cartel-linked gambling.
“Sheriff Donahue said the objective [of the raid] was to take down what was suspected to be an illegal gambling operation at the racetrack,” CBS admitted. “The FBI had obtained a federal criminal warrant to arrest five people suspected of running the unlicensed operation.”
The FBI also involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to all the illegal aliens suspected to be at the event. By the time the raid concluded, 105 illegal aliens had been found and detained.
This too upset the media, with CBS News suggesting the raid “was effectively a Trojan horse for an immigration dragnet.”
The media also complained about attendees, both legal and illegal, being forced to stand around for a couple of hours as the raid was conducted.
For the record, this was a raid on an illegal horse racing, animal figthing and gambling operation not just a simple illegal alien raid. 1 out of 4 where illegals. Being detained for being in a illegal gambling place for 4 hours is not unreasonable.
— Marcelino Quito (@marsyjr) February 12, 2026
The latter complaint made it into a lawsuit filed by three Idaho families of citizens and permanent residents.
“The families say state and federal law enforcement agencies conspired to use unconstitutional tactics during the raid, including detaining people because they appeared to be Latino; keeping adults and some children in zip ties for hours without access to food, water, or bathrooms; and searching individuals without reasonable suspicion of a crime,” according to the Associated Press.
The families are being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
“In October 2025, more than 200 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers descended on the La Catedral arena with armored trucks and helicopters, flashbang grenades, and guns drawn, detaining approximately 400 spectators – including U.S. citizens and children – for four hours of detention in inhumane conditions,” the ACLU kvetched in a press release.
Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, the deputy director of policing at the ACLU, went on to accuse the authorities of treating their clients as subhuman.
“Our plaintiffs were treated as less than human because ICE and their willing partners think they can disregard fundamental rights if it gets them immigration arrests,” Borchetta said.
“From Wilder, to Minneapolis, to Chicago, the Trump administration is trampling our rights using racially biased tactics that make us all less safe. The administration can suggest that this abuse is immune from legal consequences, but it is not, and we intend to prove that in court,” he added.
The ACLU cares so much, it is fine with children being brought to animal fights.
— WhiskeySilverball (@WhiskeySlvrBall) February 12, 2026
This lawsuit isn’t going anywhere and the government should charge the ACLU for filing frivolous lawsuits wasting government time and taxpayer dollars.
— crowsaboveme (@crowsaboveme) February 12, 2026
The ACLU has also adopted the media’s narrative about horse racing.
“The horse races at La Catedral are a beloved family-friendly event in Wilder and have long been a place for the local Latino community to celebrate Mexican culture,” the organization’s press release alleged.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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