GEO Group employee arrested for shooting protester at Aurora ICE center
On the night of July 16‑17, 2026, a 42‑year‑old GEO Group employee, Brandon Booth, was arrested after firing a single shot at two female protesters outside the Aurora Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center in Aurora, Colorado. The protesters had blocked the facility’s entrance, and after a verbal confrontation and photographing the employees’ vehicles, Booth retrieved a personally owned handgun and shot one woman in the lower body. The victim, identified in court documents as Emma Landis, received non‑life‑threatening injuries and was treated at a local hospital.
Booth was stopped a few blocks from the scene, the firearm was recovered from his vehicle, and he was booked on suspicion of attempted second‑degree murder, first‑degree assault, attempted first‑degree assault, felony menacing and unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon. GEO Group placed Booth on unpaid administrative leave and said it would cooperate with law enforcement. Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain described the incident as a “tragedy on all fronts” and pledged a thorough, impartial investigation. The shooting follows recent fatal shootings involving ICE agents in Texas and Maine, heightening scrutiny of ICE detention operations.
The incident highlights tensions surrounding immigration enforcement, private‑prison contracts, and protest activity at the nation’s only operational ICE detention center in Colorado.