After federal officials detained at least three people at a car wash in the city of Bell, according to witnesses, then went to another car wash in nearby Maywood, protesters assembled in southeast Los Angeles County on Friday night to battle masked men in fatigues.
Jack’s Car Wash and Detailing, situated in the 7000 block of Atlantic Avenue, approximately north of Florence Avenue, was the site of the immigration action in Bell. A car wash employee wearing a bright green uniform and cap is being chased by masked guys wearing olive vests, according to security camera footage The Times examined.
In the footage, another worker is shown with his hands bound behind his back while surrounded by the masked men. He is dressed in blue trousers, a white long-sleeve shirt, and a bright green headgear. As customers and others gathered, some pulling out their phones to take footage, the employee was thrown to the ground.
Following an apparent immigration raid at a car wash in the city of Bell, protesters assembled in southeast Los Angeles County and engaged in combat with masked individuals wearing fatigues.
The brother of the employee, Jess Rafael Cervantes, claims that the man in the white long-sleeved shirt is a U.S. citizen who works at a car wash. Cervantes claimed that his brother, who resides in Bell Gardens, was detained by agents because he attempted to defend a coworker.
They arrived and knocked him down for defending someone. The films show that they simply arrived and knocked him down in that manner. Cervantes told The Times, “And that’s unfair, that they come and grab a person like that, as if he were an animal or something.”
About 6 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, protesters gathered to face the agents. A person can be heard shouting, “Get the… out of here!” as a demonstrator paints a silver SUV white in one video that was given to The Times. while others laugh. The car is being struck by people.
Company
According to the nonprofit labor advocacy group CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, federal immigration raids have targeted nine car washes in Orange and Los Angeles counties in recent days. The majority of the 26 individuals taken were workers.
A request for comment from U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials was not immediately answered. The agency claimed in a statement shared on social media that Border Patrol cars were brutally attacked in Bell and Maywood while conducting legitimate operations.
One car was hit and had its tires cut on Atlantic Boulevard, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The department said a federal vehicle was totaled after a citizen struck it on Slauson Avenue.
As a mob gathered and slashed more tires, the motorist was taken into custody on suspicion of vehicular assault, according to the department.
Photographs of silver cars with broken or cracked windows were included in the statement. A silver SUV with chipped paint and dented doors was displayed.
The department stated that despite the steadily rising number of assaults, federal law enforcement will not be discouraged. You will face legal action if you attack a federal official.
The number of people held on immigration-related charges was not specified in the announcement.
The demonstration in Bell, which has a sizable Latino and Lebanese population, coincides with the federal government’s ongoing effort to track down and apprehend undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles. Some residents have been driven into hiding as a result of the acts, which have sparked criticism from state and municipal officials.
These armed men are unknown to us. They arrive without their uniforms. They arrive fully disguised. They won’t provide identification. They are operating standard vehicles with tinted windows and, occasionally, license plates from other states. Who are these individuals? Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, stated during a conference Friday evening.
Why don’t they identify themselves if they are government officials? Bass enquired.
Crowds of people congregated along Atlantic and Brompton Avenues, filming and observing the armed agents in vests, camouflage pants, and balaclavas, some of whom were brandishing long weapons. They were standing close to a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop in the street.
Yellow tape separated the agents from the audience. While others carried an upside-down U.S. flag and a Mexican flag, which are typically used as signs of protest or distress, one woman brandished a bullhorn and swore at the agents and President Trump.
Losers! One more woman yelled. Take on a genuine battle! “Shame on you!” exclaimed another.
Company
Since early June, there have apparently been immigration checks at two dozen vehicle washes. While some companies have shut down, others are still operating out of fear.
In another area, some bystanders yelled at the armed individuals, one of whom had a U.S. flag on his vest. Do you work as a bounty hunter? What is the current bounty for an illegal? On the street, someone shouted.
As the throngs gathered in Bell, Cudahy Mayor Elizabeth Alcantar Loza reported that the atmosphere on Atlantic Avenue changed when an unmarked silver SUV abruptly sped toward her and other nearby individuals, infuriating the crowd. Some started hurling things at the SUV and hitting it. Moments afterward, she added, a second unmarked car tried to do the same thing.
According to Alcantar Loza, it seemed like an attempt was being made to provoke violence. The vehicle that was attempting to drive into the crowd significantly changed the peaceful protest that was taking place.
We have witnessed it everywhere: people attend an immigration event, and then they are subjected to violence. They then react, portraying us as violent protestors when, in fact, people were peaceful, chanting, and demonstrating. She added that they attempted to run people over.
Just after 8 p.m., drivers honked their horns in support of the nonviolent demonstrators who were gathered at Jack’s Car Wash in Bell, waving Mexican and American flags. “ICE out of nowhere!” said one sign. Another remarked, “This country was built by immigrants.”
Maywood Councilman Eddie De La Riva said Friday’s immigration action seemed to center on a car wash in the community. In the end, he said, no one was removed from that company.
There was a lot of noise around the car wash at one point.
At least three agents wearing green vests are seen inside a blue SUV and a blue BMW in a minor collision captured on camera and provided to The Times.
When one of the SUV’s occupants opens his door in front of the slowly approaching BMW, the BMW collides with the SUV’s door.
According to the councilman, the driver of the BMW was arrested by agents but was later freed after bystanders yelled at them to do so. By then, a crowd of protesters had formed.
Fernando Botello, 39, was driving back to Maywood after picking up his girlfriend s 14-year-old son when he got an alert on his citizen app that people suspected to be immigration agents were spotted in the area.
Moments later, he said, he learned that the agents were at an Xpress Wash at Slauson and Alamo avenues, just blocks from his home. When Botello got close to the intersection, he could see several vehicles were blocking the roadway.
California
Federal immigration sweeps have spread fear and uncertainty across the region and forced some into hiding.
Unable to move, he got out of the car and watched the scene.
He said the crowd started screaming to let the man go. He could hear people asking for the agents badge numbers. After five minutes, he said, local police arrived.
It was at that point, he said, the agents got in their vehicles and threw tear gas at a group standing on a corner near a park.
A video taken by Botello shows anarmed masked manstanding from the ledge of an open door of a black SUV slowly driving along a street near Maywood s Riverfront Park. The video shows the agent throwing an object toward a crowd of people, and a loud bang can be heard as he gets back in the vehicle. Botello said the object was a flash bang grenade, and was tossed at people who were taking video.
They knew what they wanted to do, he said.
As he recounted the situation, Botello paused, trying to hold back tears.
I was upset because the people were exercising their right. They weren t hitting the officers vehicles, they weren t in the middle of the street, he said. You re punishing people for standing up for their neighbors and yourself.
It feels surreal. I don t know how long this is going to last.
