At least two dozen people have been detained, according to NBC Los Angeles, after hundreds gathered on Saturday around the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), prompting federal authorities to say, “We’re not playing. We have surged federal officers to protect our property and our employees.”
Why It Matters
It comes just one day after President Donald Trump warned that federal forces would focus on protecting federal buildings during demonstrations.
What To Know
On Saturday, January 31, Trump issued the following statement on Truth Social: “We will guard, and very powerfully so, any and all Federal Buildings that are being attacked by these highly paid Lunatics, Agitators, and Insurrectionists. There will be no spitting in the faces of our Officers, there will be no punching or kicking the headlights of our cars, and there will be no rock or brick throwing at our vehicles or at our Patriot Warriors. If there is, those people will suffer an equal, or more, consequence.”
Trump went on to state that “ICE, Border Patrol, or, if necessary, our Military, will be extremely powerful and tough in the protection of our Federal Property. We will not allow our Courthouses, Federal Buildings, or anything else under our protection to be damaged in any way, shape, or form.”
Despite this warning, on January 31, at around 6 p.m., Los Angeles police closed streets and deployed tear gas into a crowd of hundreds protesting against ICE. This was after “bottles, rocks, and industrial-sized fireworks” were thrown near the federal facility, according to NBC Los Angeles.
By 9.15 p.m., they had declared an “unlawful assembly,” with First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli saying on the social media platform X, “I have authorized probable cause arrests for those who break the law, and they will be charged federally.”
The video Essayli posted (originally posted by Eric Daughtery, chief content officer at Right Line News) to accompany his statement on X shows federal agents pushing back protesters near the federal detention center, shouting “Get Back!” as protesters were heard screaming.
The protests and law enforcement response unfolded amid ongoing public anger over recent fatal shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis—issues that have intensified the debate over the scope and tactics of ICE enforcement.
In his Truth Social post, Trump referenced the recent reported damage at a federal building in Eugene, Oregon, and said the local police “did nothing,” while reiterating that federal resources would now respond where help is requested.
What People Are Saying
According to reporting by NBC on Friday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said: “I think the protests are extremely important, but it is equally important for these protests to be peaceful, for vandalism not to take place. That just hurts the city.”
Demonstrator Luz Maria Cruz told NBC Los Angeles on Friday that: “I brought my little girls, so they can stand up for the community, so they know where we came from.”
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social: “I have instructed Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, that under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help. Please be aware that I have instructed ICE and/or Border Patrol to be very forceful in this protection of Federal Government Property.”
What Happens Next
Nationwide demonstrations tied to ICE activities are expected to persist as federal operations continue and debate grows over how federal and local authorities should coordinate.
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