Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., appeared at an anti-ICE protest in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, chanting “ICE out of L.A.” hours before the demonstration descended into violence and police made multiple arrests.
“What I see here at the detention center are people exercising their constitutional rights,” Waters said while standing in front of officers wearing riot gear, Fox News reported. “And, of course, they’re now trying to tear gas everybody. It’s in the air, but people are not moving.”
Later on Friday, Los Angeles police arrested multiple violent agitators after issuing dispersal orders as protests erupted near a federal detention center.
Thousands of protesters gathered outside City Hall Friday afternoon before many marched to the detention facility, where a group of agitators pushed a large construction dumpster and blocked the entrance to the building’s loading dock, according to police.
The Los Angeles Police Department shared video of the unrest on social media and said officers deployed pepper balls and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
“We had hoped that demonstrations today would be peaceful, however, as you can see in this video, the violent agitators invited LAPD due to their actions,” the department said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said during a Friday evening news conference that at least five people were arrested for failing to disperse. LAPD did not immediately confirm the total number of arrests.
Police said one person was taken into custody after allegedly using a slingshot to fire hard metal objects at officers.
The unrest came as cities nationwide saw demonstrations under the banner “ICE Out Everywhere” following the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both involving federal agents in Minneapolis.
Bass urged demonstrators protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown to remain peaceful, arguing that violence undermines their message.
“I think the protests are extremely important, but it is equally important for these protests to be peaceful, for vandalism not to take place,” Bass said. “That does not impact the administration in any kind of way that is going to bring about any type of change.”
Bass said violent unrest is “exactly what I believe this administration wants to see happen.”
“Don’t be surprised if the military reenters our city,” she added.
LAPD issued a dispersal order at about 5:45 p.m. local time, ordering all protesters in the area of Alameda Street between Union Station and First Street to leave or face arrest.
Police also placed the city on tactical alert due to violent activity between Temple and Aliso streets.
While some demonstrators dispersed, others remained and continued throwing bottles and rocks at officers, LAPD said.
The department also said federal authorities were being struck with “debris, bottles and other objects,” prompting officials to declare an unlawful assembly at the detention center.
“Protestors are actively fighting with Officers after multiple dispersal orders were issued,” LAPD wrote on X. “Metropolitan Division is now on scene. Less-than-lethal has been authorized due to the violence against officers.”
During her remarks, Bass also referenced the recent arrest of former CNN host Don Lemon in Los Angeles. Lemon was charged with conspiracy to deprive rights and violating the FACE Act for his alleged role in an anti-ICE protest that disrupted church services in Minnesota.
“Here you have a world renowned reporter, Don Lemon,” Bass said. “No one questions that he is a reporter, and for him to be arrested for doing his job and for them to attempt to restrict his ability to do his job was just an egregious misuse of our justice system.”
Bass added that the arrest raised broader concerns.
“I think about this every day, that this is the 250th year of our democracy, and I just wonder how much more our democracy will be eroded with this administration,” she said.
