Trump calls LA protesters a security risk as the clash continues
The protesters clashed with police on a highway off-ramp in Los Angeles on the fifth day. President Trump called them a national security risk.
- Activists working to organize protests against federal immigration attacks say they are targeted by the FBI.
- One activist said she would search for the phone.
- Another is facing two federal charges against a conspiracy that commits civil disability and causes civil disability. The FBI alleges that activists drove trucks that distributed face shields to protesters.
Verita Topete said he was walking his dog alone one afternoon at Ernest E. Deb Park in Los Angeles in late June. She said multiple FBI agents had approached her as she was leaving with her dog in her car.
They presented her with a phone search warrant and pulled it out of her hand with the kind of force she said she had left a bruise behind. She was then arrested and temporarily detained. She is not facing charges.
But Toppett says she believes she was targeted because of her role in helping the organization protest the immigrant raids in Los Angeles. Topete, the leader of the Centro CSO’s Immigration Committee, has advocated Chicano and immigration rights for decades, has mobilized Los Angeles residents against the US immigration and customs enforcement raids that began on June 6th. Toppett and other supporters of Centro CSO say she was targeted for her role in protests against her activities and Trump’s deportation agenda. “This is how we treat Americans who are exercising their first amendment rights to stand up for those that are impossible,” Toppett said at a press conference the day after she was taken into custody.
She’s not just advocates who say she’s facing an increase in scrutiny following her June protest role in Los Angeles. Alejandro Orellana, who is also a member of Centro CSO, faces two federal charges of a conspiracy that commits civil disability in prison for up to five years against each charge, causing civil disability.
Court records show Orellana is driving a Ford F-150 pickup truck following the FBI radar.
On June 12th, the FBI attacked the house. There, agents found face masks, spray paint, slingshots and notebooks with anti-polis slogans on their Ford pickups. They were also taken into custody, but were released the following day after East L.A. and the Boyle Heights community recovered for release.
The FBI argues that these facial shields are not normally used by protesters and that criminal charges say they can help protect “asgitators” from non-fatal weapons deployed by local police. On July 3, Orelana pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Supporters of Centro CSO are calling on California Central District Attorney Bilal Essayli to stop accusations against Orellana. The US Lawyer’s Office declined to comment. An FBI spokesman said the agency is “investiture into federal crimes and threats to national security. It will not launch an investigation based solely on amendment protection efforts.”
But that’s not how Toppett sees it.
“We are simply criminalized because we are willing to tolerate hatred and injustice around us,” Toppett said at a press conference. “This is their clear attack to silence us, but we are not silent.” Carlos Montes, a longtime leader at Centro CSO, said the organization’s events, including protests, are always peaceful and organized. He called the FBI’s actions against protesters “witch hunts.” The FBI raided his home in 2011. The warrant said the investigation was to “provide material information” to popular fronts for the release of Palestine and the FARC. Solmarquez, a member of Centro CSO’s Immigration Committee, said: On June 27, after The Day Topete was taken into custody, supporters of Centro CSO and community members gathered at Reuben Salazar Park in Los Angeles, chanting “Protest is not a crime” and “Stop the FBI Witch Hunt.” They warned, “When there is another uprising against police terror, and when street activists are trying to change the system, the FBI will also knock on their doors.” The campaign to withdraw the accusations and investigations of Olerana and Toppett has gained support from Black Life Matter in Los Angeles. Baba Akiri, a field coordinator across the country, said he is in solidarity with the immigrant population. Because, “If we don’t stop this now, we don’t stand up in solidarity, then the next thing is.” “They were standing with us, so we have to be in solidarity with Centro CSO,” Akili said. Marquez said Centro CSO is not planning to retreat and “will continue to fight back on behalf of our people no matter what happens.” “Like our ancestors, we are resilient. These intimidation tactics only fuel us to make immigrant rights stronger and stronger and fight for the immigrant community,” Toppett said.
