Weeks after his detainment by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), fighting game community member Ludovic Mbock is going home after being granted a low bond at a hearing.
According to Mbock’s friends and family in a GoFundMe update post, around 20 people were in the courtroom at the hearing, with over 20 other people showing support online. “The judge was clearly moved,” the post read. “Everything he said was in favor of Ludovic.” Per Aftermath, Mbock was moved to facilities in Louisiana and then Georgia during his detention.
Friends and peers quickly took to social media to celebrate, with one post from fighting game community member Fem!Shep noting that Mbock’s team is “optimistic” about a forthcoming hearing set for May.
When we fight we win y’all! Lud was granted an extremely low bond and we are in the process of bringing him home. We celebrate today but the fight continues for justice in May! #FREELUD now and forever pic.twitter.com/Rl2eFMagCk
— Aeriqui #FREELUD (@Aeriqui) March 13, 2026
Mbock was arrested on February 17 during a routine appointment to renew his work permit at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services Baltimore field office. Immediately after his detainment, the fighting game community quickly sprung into action to support him.
The GoFundMe campaign for Mbock’s legal defense has raised over $102,000. Mbock is a Maryland native who has been living in the United States since 2002. The arrest of Mbock, an openly gay man, sparked fears from family members that he would be deported to Cameroon, where LGBTQ+ relationships are criminalized.
As a professional fighting game player, Mbock has represented The Hiero Group in Street Fighter, The King of Fighters, and Tekken tournaments in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia area.