Irish priest, 90, takes to streets of riot-torn LA to 'stand with' immigrant families
Fr Peter O'Reilly has chosen to stand in solidarity with immigrant families amid unrest in the state of California due to protests against the ICE operations targeting immigrants.
While Fr O'Reilly may now be a California-based cleric, he originally hails from none other than County Longford. A 90-year-old Irish priest is currently at the centre of the ongoing riots in Los Angeles. Pic: RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images
The member of the church originally had planned to take part in a prayer vigil at LA's City Hall's steps, but his plans swiftly changed as the protest escalated.
Speaking to RTE, Fr O'Reilly shared his experience: 'The meeting had been cancelled because of the fear of violence so I felt maybe the thing to do was maybe just mingle with the people and wearing my Roman collar, I thought that would be the best thing to do.
'To bear witness. To say, 'we stand with you,'' he added before further explaining the atmosphere. @rtenews
A 90-year-old Irish priest in Los Angeles has attended one of the protests in the city over anti-immigration raids, as police fired rubber bullets around him. Fr Peter O'Reilly, who is originally from Abbeylara, Co Longford, said what is happening in Los Angeles is very personal for him as an immigrant himself. #losangeles #ireland #laprotests #trump #rtenews ♬ original sound – RTÉ News
'The mood was serious. It was animated. People were talking to each other.
'Maybe about 15 yards away were the group who set up the barriers, street barriers, which I found out were to be used to protect them from the rubber bullets fired by the police. They were firing them. I was not near the front, maybe 15 to 20 yards away,' he continued.
'The police were firing them maybe as a warning, do not riot. I had a feeling too because of what the mayor of Los Angeles had said, that this was not an insurrection. Fr Peter O'Reilly has chosen to stand in solidarity with immigrant families amid unrest in the state of California due to protests against the ICE operations targeting immigrants. Pic: RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images
'This is a manufactured thing from Washington, to create confusion and bring about violence rather than peace,' he mused.
'With the Irish experience of being discriminated against for many years and knowing the discrimination here in this country against the Irish. I felt there was something personal about where I was, some of these communities and knowing how many of them were marginalised because of the colour of their skin.'
He concluded: 'These were hardworking family-oriented people, that we needed to stand with them and let them know we were with them and for them.'
Cars were set alight by protestors while federal agents used tear gas to break up crowds over the weekend as tempers flared in LA following ICE [Immigration and Custom Enforcement] operations.
More than 100 people have been arrested, with 44 arrested on Friday on suspicion of immigration violations during raids carried out by ICE.
US President Donald Trump has signed an order to deploy the National Guard in a move heavily criticized by Governor of California Gavin Newsom, who said the President wanted a 'spectacle.'
The Governor has been vocal about his disdain towards the President, stating that the 'commandeering a state's National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral.'
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