Southland anti-ICE demonstrations are set to continue Saturday, including one outside Los Angeles City Hall a day after multiple protesters were arrested amid clashes with federal agents outside downtown’s Metropolitan Detention Center during a nationwide push to end funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The City Hall rally, sponsored by 50501Socal, is set for 2 p.m. on the steps at 200 N. Spring St. Nearly a dozen similar rallies are scheduled Saturday in various Southern California communities.
At least five people were arrested Friday, according to Mayor Karen Bass, amid clashes with federal agents during a nationwide day of action in response to the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis amid protests against ICE enforcement operations in that city.
At 7:40 p.m. Friday, Los Angeles Police Department Central officials noted on X that “Officers have arrested a suspect who was allegedly using a sling shot to shoot hard metal objects at officers who were standing on the line.”
The clashes began shortly before 5 p.m. Friday
Video from the scene showed objects being thrown toward the building, while police appeared to deploy pepper spray from inside the facility and erect a makeshift barricade using wooden skids from a loading-dock area.
The LAPD announced at 5:16 p.m. it had gone on tactical alert because of what it said was “violent agitators” on Alameda Street between Temple and Aliso streets.
A tactical alert requires all on-duty officers to stay on duty beyond their shifts and enables the reallocation of personnel.
Spring Street between Temple and First streets was closed due to demonstrations.
A dispersal order was issued around 5:45 p.m., giving protesters in the area of Alameda between Union Station 10 minutes to leave or face arrest, police said.
When LAPD officers attempted to disperse the crowd on Alameda Street between Temple and Aliso streets around 6:05 p.m., protesters immediately began to block the street with traffic control items and throw rocks and bottles at the officers, according to the department.
Freshly spray-painted graffiti using obscenities to criticize ICE and President Donald Trump was on several buildings in the area.
The department announced earlier Friday that acts of vandalism during the march were being documented and asked all property owners and managers to also document all acts of vandalism and report them LAPD.online.
A dispersal order was issued around 5:45 p.m., giving protesters in the area of Alameda between Union Station 10 minutes to leave or face arrest, police said.
By the scheduled 1 p.m. start of the rally outside Los Angeles City Hall and at the adjacent Grand Park, a throng of over 1,000 people had assembled in the park, with the crowd continuing to swell as demonstrators set off on a peaceful march eastward, many crossing the Cesar E. Chavez Avenue bridge toward Boyle Heights.
Video from the scene showed sheriff’s deputies standing guard behind razor wire surrounding the Hall of Justice, home to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department offices.
The California Highway Patrol reported that both on- and off-ramps were blocked in the downtown area, though traffic flow on nearby freeways remained normal.
Protesters carrying signs gathered outside a Target store in Woodland Hills earlier Friday, criticizing what they described as the retailer’s abandonment of diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Some demonstrators alleged that federal immigration enforcement agents have been allowed on store premises. Target officials denied the claims, saying the company has no cooperative agreement with the federal government regarding immigration enforcement.
Additional protests were held outside Burbank City Hall, at Abbott Kinney and Venice boulevards in Venice, at Carlson Park in Culver City and the intersection of Valencia Boulevard and McBean Parkway in Santa Clarita.
In Orange County, an afternoon rally was held at the intersection of Camino Capistrano and Del Obispo Street in San Juan Capistrano.
Broadcast reports showed students on the march in Mission Viejo and La Habra.
Los Angeles Unified School District campuses remained open Friday.
“Schools are providing students with opportunities on campus for student expression, offering additional district resources and guidance for students to engage in meaningful discussions on campus,” according to a statement from the District.
The demonstrations were part of a nationwide day of action organized by University of Minnesota student groups following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis. Organizers have dubbed the effort “National Shutdown,” with the stated goal of stopping funding for ICE, according to the group’s website.
“The people of the Twin Cities have shown the way for the whole country — to stop ICE’s reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN. On Friday, January 30, join a nationwide day of no school, no work and no shopping,” organizers wrote online.
Several local businesses participated in the protest through closures or boycotts.
Proof Bakery, a worker-owned cooperative in Atwater Village, posted signs in English and Spanish explaining its decision to close Friday in support of the action.
“We’ve seen historically that strikes work,” employee Daniela Diaz told ABC7. “I hope the violence stops. I want ICE out of our communities.”