Hispanic workers destroy fence after Illinois homeowner allegedly refused to pay for their work and even threatened to call police on them
An Illinois man has been accused of refusing to pay Hispanic workers who constructed a fence for him. According to viral claims, the man also allegedly tried calling police on the workers to have them detained.
The viral claims have been shared on social media platforms such as X and TikTok, accompanied by a video recorded by the workers as they confront the homeowner and knock down the fence. The video was originally posted to Instagram by user “el.compa.cesar,” who claimed that he was going to “take away a fence because someone didn’t want to pay.”
Cesar and a group of workers gathered to take down the homeowner’s fence, which they claimed they had received no money for. In the video, the angry homeowner is seen confronting the group, repeatedly telling them to “get the f–k off my property.” He is also heard threatening to call the police on the men.
The workers don’t listen to anything the man says, and on Cesar’s word, they proceed to tear down the fence right in front of the homeowner they claim didn’t pay. The man is powerless to do anything but look on as the brand-new fence is broken down, piece by piece, until there is nothing left.
Netizens support Cesar and the workers
The comments on Cesar’s Instagram post are filled with people who claim they would have done the same had they been in the position the workers were: “As a contractor, I totally agree with this if they don’t wanna pay take that s–t down.” Another added, “I hope the cops said it’s a civil matter and didn’t interfere.”
As the video spread across social media, additional claims were made. On X, a repost of the video claimed that the homeowner had called ICE on the workers to get out of paying, but this does not appear to have been confirmed by Cesar or anyone else involved in the incident. TikToker Aaron Parnas also claimed that the homeowner allegedly threatened to call the police on the workers after refusing to pay.
One X user also questioned whether what Cesar and the workers were doing was legal. From a purely legal perspective, what the workers are doing would constitute destruction of property, potentially opening them up to all sorts of legal troubles. While videos such as this may be popular online, it’s not an advisable course of action to take.
Instead, contractors are recommended to put a lien on a property. According to Investopedia, a lien is a legal claim filed by the contractor for unpaid labor and materials. However, some have argued that the legal route for contractors can often be time-consuming and costly in itself.
(Featured image: Cesar Diaz, Instagram)
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