OAKLAND, Calif. —

A pastor was hit with a pepper round in the chin during protests against federal immigration officers in Oakland on Thursday.

The Rev. Jorge Bautista was invited to the protests just off the bridge to Coast Guard Island on Thursday morning to hold a vigil. He's a pastor at College Heights United Church in San Mateo and lives in Oakland.

Bautista said his role at the protest was to pray and help maintain peace.

He said the protest started peacefully, but when Customs and Border Patrol agents arrived, tensions escalated. Bautista said the agents drove in aggressively and were pulling and dragging protesters away from the road. That's when he says he stepped in, hoping to show the federal agents that a clergy member was present to help keep things calm.

"I stepped in

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