Two guards who used to work at Florida’s now-closed “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility are charged with battery of an inmate, court records show.
Collier County court records said Andre Junior Seenaraine, 30, and Stephen Jordan Trejos, 24, pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor offense that allegedly occurred Jan. 25.
Online records offer few details. An indictment against the guards only said they are charged with “intentionally touching or striking or intentionally causing bodily harm” to Rigoberto Rodriguez Arce.
The officers were arrested June 24 and June 26. Both posted a $1,000 bond.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Alligator Alcatraz’s closure June 25, saying the federal facility based at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport served its purpose.
He said 21,000 people had been deported through the temporary detention center since its opening in the Everglades in July 2025.
A former detainee recounted the alleged incident to Fort Myers CBS affiliate WINK-TV, which first reported the charges against Mr. Seenaraine and Mr. Trejos.
The detainee told the station that Mr. Rodriguez Arce was among more than 100 inmates who had been handcuffed for hours as they waited to be transferred from the facility.
The detainee said Mr. Rodriguez Arce banged his handcuffs against an aluminum bench to get guards’ attention, at which point Mr. Trejos threw the victim to the ground and beat him.
A motion from Mr. Trejos’ defense team, obtained by WINK, said surveillance video captured inmates banging their handcuffs in a disorderly manner.
The video allegedly showed officers move Mr. Rodriguez Arce out of the room, and then Mr. Rodriguez Arce spat on Mr. Trejos.
The court filing said Mr. Trejos delivered one “compliance strike” to the head of Mr. Rodriguez Arce and other officers forced him to the ground.
Attorneys for Mr. Seenaraine disputed the witness accounts.
“The publicly available charging documents contain almost no detail, and much of what has been reported comes from secondhand accounts that have not been verified,” attorney Evan Pfeifer said. “What has been reported so far is a small fraction of the record in this case. We look forward to presenting the rest of it where it belongs, in the courtroom.”
Rigoberto Rodriguez Arce is a Cuban citizen who had lived in the U.S. since 2007. He was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in December.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.