Latest news with #VeritaTopete
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Immigrant justice advocates say FBI is targeting LA protest organizers
Verita Topete said she was walking her dog alone one afternoon in late June at Los Angeles' Ernest E. Debs Park. As she was putting her dog in her car to leave, she said multiple FBI agents approached her. They presented her with a search warrant for her phone, yanked it from her hand with such force she said she was left with bruises. Then she was arrested and temporarily detained. She is not facing charges. But Topete says she believes she was targeted because of her role helping organizations protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles. Topete, a leader of the immigration committee at Centro CSO, which has been advocating for Chicano and immigrant rights for decades, has been mobilizing residents in Los Angeles against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that started on June 6. She has been involved in fighting for immigrant justice since 2020, when her father was arrested and detained in Southern California's Adelanto ICE Processing Center. Topete and other advocates at Centro CSO say she was targeted for her activism and role in the protests against Trump's mass deportation agenda. 'This is how we treat Americans who are exercising their First Amendment rights simply for standing up for those who cannot,' Topete said in a news conference the day after she was detained. She is not the only one advocates say is facing increased scrutiny following a role in protests in Los Angeles in June. Alejandro Orellana, also a member of Centro CSO, faces two federal charges for conspiracy to commit civil disorder and abetting civil disorder, with up to five years in prison for each charge. Orellana got on the FBI's radar following a video that circulated showing him driving a Ford F-150 pickup truck, where an unidentified woman distributed face shields from the truck, according to court records. On June 12, the FBI raided their house, where agents found face masks, spray paint, a slingshot and a notebook with anti-police slogans in the Ford pickup. They were also detained but released the following day after the East LA and Boyle Heights communities rallied for their release. The FBI argues those face shields aren't typically used by protesters and would help protect "agitators" from less lethal weapons deployed by the local police, according to the criminal complaint. On July 3, Orellana pleaded not guilty to the charges Advocates with Centro CSO are calling U.S. Attorney Bilal Essayli in the Central District of California to drop the charges against Orellana. The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment. A spokesperson with the FBI said the agency 'investigates federal crimes and threats to the national security. We will never open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity.' But that's not how Topete sees it. "We are criminalized simply for not being willing to tolerate hate and injustice around us,' Topete said at the news conference. 'This is a clear attack of them trying to silence us, but we will not be silenced.' Carlos Montes, a longtime leader with Centro CSO, said the organization's events, including protests, have always been peaceful and organized. He called the FBI's actions toward protesters a 'witch hunt.' The FBI raided his house in 2011; the warrant said the investigation was for 'providing material information' to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. 'We see this as a direct attack on not just Centro CSO, but anybody who is fighting back against ICE raids, fighting back against the Trump agenda,' said Sol Marquez, a member of the immigration committee at Centro CSO. On June 27, following the day Topete was detained, advocates with Centro CSO and community members rallied at Ruben Salazar Park in East Los Angeles, chanting 'protesting is not a crime' and 'stop the FBI witch hunt.' They warned that 'when there is another uprising against police terror, activists in the street trying to change the system, the FBI is going to come knocking on their doors as well.' The movement to drop the charges and investigation of Orellana and Topete has drawn support from Black Lives Matter in Los Angeles. Baba Akili, a national field coordinator, said they are in solidarity with the immigrant population because 'if we don't stop this now, if we don't stand up now in solidarity, then we are next.' 'We have to stand in solidarity with Centro CSO because they have stood with us,' Akili said. Marquez said Centro CSO is not going to back down and will 'keep fighting back for our people no matter what happens.' 'Just like our ancestors, we are resilient, and these intimidation tactics will only fuel us to advocate harder and stronger for immigrant rights and to fight for our immigrant community,' Topete said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Immigrant justice advocates say FBI is targeting protest organizers
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Late-night noise latest tactic used in LA immigration protests: ‘No sleep for ICE'
The clanging of pots and pans. The steady thud of beating drums. The honking of passing cars with waving flags sticking out of the window. Bands playing traditional Mexican songs. Speakers shouting into megaphones. Chants coming from dozens of people. All unfolding into the middle of the night outside the Home2 Suites by Hilton in Montebello, California, in late June. The goal of this latest protest? Make as much noise as possible to try and keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from sleeping and force them elsewhere. 'They were just making noise, playing music, and some people were dancing,' said Verita Topete, a leader of the immigration committee with Centro CSO, who took part in the protest. 'A lot of people were holding signs saying, 'ICE is not welcome here.'' She said she arrived by 8:30 p.m. on June 20, and before she knew it, a crowd began to show up on the sidewalk outside the hotel. By 10 p.m., dozens more protesters joined the group, and they didn't disperse until 3 a.m. Topete said that the next day, they returned with enough people to take over the two-lane street to block people from going into the front of the hotel. The protests were part of a nightly 'No Sleep for ICE' campaign in and around Los Angeles County, where protesters gather outside the hotels where ICE agents are staying and make noise to put pressure on the hotel staff to kick ICE out and prevent agents from sleeping. Topete said the protest is important 'to apply pressure and let city and state officials know that we don't agree with this' at a time when 'ICE agents are hunting down our working class community members as if they're criminals, throwing them to the pavement and taking them away from their workplaces.' During the second night in Montebello, Topete said a band showed up with drums and guitars and many people were dancing to traditional Mexican songs like "Caballo Dorado" and "La Chona." Others attended with their families. While most people were on foot, others passed by in their cars, waving Mexican flags and honking their horns. 'It was a very peaceful protest, just very noisy,' she said. An ICE spokesperson pushed back on the protests when asked for comment about the demonstrations outside of hotels. 'This violence is fueled by a disinformation campaign, which includes dangerous rhetoric by local elected officials," the ICE spokesperson said. "Our brave officers are out there every day enforcing the laws set by Congress, removing public safety threats from communities.' A spokesperson for Hilton Hotels did not return a request for comment. Other noise protests include one on June 8, two days after ICE began its raids in Los Angeles. Community members rallied outside the AC Hotel in Pasadena, about 10 miles from Los Angeles, to protest ICE agents' staying there. Hundreds of people had shown up outside the hotel in the early afternoon after a photo of ICE vehicles parked outside the hotel circulated on local group chats and social media pages. When some of the first protesters arrived, they learned that many of the hotel workers had left in fear. They chanted 'Chinga la Migra' and 'Fuera ICE,' and by the evening, the agents were kicked out of the hotel. Since then, protesters have continued rallying together outside hotels every night. 'The point is to drive ICE out of these hotels, and make their existence impossible here,' said Andrew Guerrero, a law student at the University of California, Los Angeles and PhD candidate at Harvard University. 'We don't want them to be able to access these amenities. We don't want our local neighborhoods to be harboring what a lot of us consider kidnappers.' Guerrero said he has attended multiple protests outside hotels in Los Angeles County, including ones in Hacienda Heights, Downey, Long Beach and Montebello. He said the protests 'let it be known that they cannot sleep peacefully when they're in our neighborhoods.' He attended a protest outside the Hilton in Montebello the day before Topete. When he got there around 11 p.m., he said there were already dozens of people, significantly larger than some of the other hotel protests he had been to. He said he brought pots and pans, a speaker, and a case of water for the protesters. 'It's like a little community building around it,' Guerrero said. 'Folks are going to multiple protests in one night and sharing resources and knowledge about what's happening and trying to keep each other informed.' Guerrero said the protests have also drawn support from those staying at the hotel. He said one man who came out of the hotel was nodding at the protesters, and another family going into the hotel gave them a thumbs up. He said that he sympathizes with anyone else staying there who might feel like 'it's creating a hostile environment,' but he believes 'it is a legitimate and just reason that this disruption is occurring.' 'It feels like we're under an occupation, and you just hear back-to-back stories, like, 'They took this person, they took this person,'' Guerrero said. 'They're literally disappearing people.' Some protests have been met with law enforcement resistance. When Kuali Aleman, an indigenous organizer and artist, arrived at a protest outside the DoubleTree by Hilton in Whittier, California, on June 11, she saw many people marching up and down the street with flags and signs. Other protesters stood huddled by the entrance of the hotel, chanting 'no one is illegal on stolen land' and 'get the f out of LA.' People were also blasting music through speakers and their cars or revving their motorcycles. But not long after that, Aleman said the Whittier police came out of the hotel and began launching less lethal weapons into the crowd. She said the protesters ran for cover, but not long after, they came back and resumed the protest. 'We just continued to protest and raise our voices because we don't like what's happening,' Aleman said. 'We demand answers because our friends or their relatives, neighbors, kids, adults, everyone of all ages, of all backgrounds, are being abducted.' The Whittier Police Department did not respond to requests for comment. Aleman said the decision to send federal agents to hotels in Los Angeles is a waste of resources that could otherwise have been put into community resources. 'It just doesn't make any sense to concentrate all our resources and manpower or people power on capturing hardworking people, people who are just trying to survive, selling fruit on the street or working in construction or on the fields or working anywhere, just not committing any crimes,' Aleman said. Topete said it is 'crazy to see how many cities are allowing ICE agents' to stay in their hotels. However, she said she is proud to see people taking to the streets to protest peacefully. 'I love seeing that the community is coming out and speaking up for undocumented community members that are being kidnapped,' Topete said. 'We have power over authority if everybody were to unite and come together, they just need to be fearless and not be scared to stand up for our people.' This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Los Angeles immigration protests: Noise outside hotels latest tactic
USA Today
30-06-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Late-night noise latest tactic used in LA immigration protests: ‘No sleep for ICE'
The clanging of pots and pans. The steady thud of beating drums. The honking of passing cars with waving flags sticking out the window. Bands playing traditional Mexican songs. Speakers shouting into megaphones. Chants coming from dozens of people. All unfolding into the middle of the night outside the Home2 Suites by Hilton in Montebello, California in late June. The goal of this latest protest? Make as much noise as possible to try and keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from sleeping and force them elsewhere. 'They were just making noise, playing music, and some people were dancing,' said Verita Topete, a leader of the immigration committee with Centro CSO, who took part in the protest. 'A lot of people were holding signs saying, 'ICE is not welcome here.'' She said she arrived by 8:30 p.m. on June 20, and before she knew it, a crowd began to show up on the sidewalk outside the hotel. By 10 p.m., dozens more protestors joined the group, and they didn't disperse until 3 a.m. Topete said that the next day they returned with enough people to take over the two-lane street to block people from going into the front of the hotel. The protests were part of a nightly 'No Sleep for ICE' campaign in and around Los Angeles County, where protestors gather outside the hotels ICE agents are staying at and make noise to put pressure on the hotel staff to kick ICE out and prevent agents from sleeping. Topete said the protest is important 'to apply pressure and let city and state officials know that we don't agree with this' at a time when 'ICE agents are hunting down our working class community members as if they're criminals, throwing them to the pavement and taking them away from their workplaces.' During the second night in Montebello, Topete said a band showed up with drums and guitars and many people were dancing to traditional Mexican songs like "Caballo Dorado" and "La Chona." Others attended went with their families. While most people were on foot, others passed by in their cars waving Mexican flags and honking their horns. 'It was a very peaceful protest, just very noisy,' she said. An ICE spokesperson pushed back on the protests when asked for comment about the demonstrations outside of hotels. 'This violence is fueled by a disinformation campaign, which includes dangerous rhetoric by local elected officials," the ICE spokesperson said. "Our brave officers are out there every day enforcing the laws set by Congress, removing public safety threats from communities.' A spokesperson for Hilton hotels did not return a request for comment. Noise protests first begin in early June Other noise protests include one on June 8, two days after ICE began its raids in Los Angeles. Community members rallied outside of the AC Hotel in Pasadena, about 10 miles from Los Angeles, to protest ICE agents' staying there. Hundreds of people had shown up outside the hotel in the early afternoon after a photo of ICE vehicles parked outside the hotel circulated on local group chats and social media pages. When some of the first protestors arrived, they learned that many of the hotel workers had left in fear. They chanted 'Chinga la Migra' and 'Fuera ICE,' and by the evening, the agents were kicked out of the hotel. Since then, protestors have continued rallying together outside hotels every night. 'The point is to drive ICE out of these hotels, and make their existence impossible here,' said Andrew Guerrero, a law student at UCLA and PhD candidate at Harvard University. 'We don't want them to be able to access these amenities. We don't want our local neighborhoods to be harboring what a lot of us consider kidnappers.' Guerrero said he has attended multiple protests outside hotels in Los Angeles County, including ones in Hacienda Heights, Downey, Long Beach and Montebello. He said the protests 'let it be known that they cannot sleep peacefully when they're in our neighborhoods.' He attended a protest outside the Hilton in Montebello the day before Topete. When he got there around 11 p.m., he said there were already dozens of people, significantly larger than some of the other hotel protests he had been to. He said he brought pots and pans, a speaker, and a case of water for the protestors. 'It's like a little community building around it,' Guerrero said. 'Folks are going to multiple protests in one night and sharing resources and knowledge about what's happening and trying to keep each other informed.' Guerrero said the protests have also drawn support from those staying at the hotel. He said one man who came out of the hotel was nodding at the protestors, and another family going into the hotel gave them a thumbs up. He said that he sympathizes with anyone else staying there who might feel like 'it's creating a hostile environment' but he believes 'it is a legitimate and just reason that this disruption is occurring.' 'It feels like we're under an occupation, and you just hear back to back stories, like, 'They took this person, they took this person,'' Guerrero said. 'They're literally disappearing people.' Law enforcement push back Some protests have been met with law enforcement resistance. When Kuali Aleman, an indigenous organizer and artist, arrived at a protest outside the DoubleTree by Hilton in Whittier, California, on June 11, she saw many people marching up and down the street with flags and signs. Other protestors stood huddled by the entrance of the hotel chanting 'no one is illegal on stolen land' and 'get the f out of LA.' People were also blasting music through speakers and their cars or revving their motorcycles. But not long after that, Aleman said Whittier police came out of the hotel and began launching less lethal weapons into the crowd. She said the protestors ran for cover, but not long after, they came back and resumed the protest. 'We just continued to protest and raise our voices because we don't like what's happening,' Aleman said. 'We demand answers because our friends or their relatives, neighbors, kids, adults, everyone of all ages, of all backgrounds, are being abducted.' The Whittier Police Department did not respond to requests for comment. Aleman said the decision to send federal agents to hotels in Los Angeles is a waste of resources that could otherwise have been put into community resources. 'It just doesn't make any sense to concentrate all our resources and manpower or people power on capturing hard working people, people who are just trying to survive, selling fruit on the street or working in construction or on the fields or working anywhere, just not committing any crimes,' Aleman said. Topete said it is 'crazy to see how many cities are allowing ICE agents' to stay in their hotels. However, she said she is proud to see people taking to the streets to protest peacefully. 'I love seeing that the community is coming out and speaking up for undocumented community members that are being kidnapped,' Topete said. 'We have power over authority if everybody were to unite and come together, they just need to be fearless and not be scared to stand up for our people.'
