Latest news with #civildisorder
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
L.A. activist indicted after handing out face shields to anti-ICE protesters
A local activist who handed out protective face shields to protesters last month during demonstrations against the Trump administration's chaotic immigration raids was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday. Alejandro Orellana, a 29-year-old member of the Boyle Heights-based community organization Centro CSO, faces charges of conspiracy and aiding and abetting civil disorder, court records show. According to the indictment, Orellana and at least two others drove around downtown L.A. in a pickup truck distributing Uvex Bionic face shields and other items to a crowd engaged in a protest near the federal building on Los Angeles Street on June 9. Prosecutors allege Orellana was helping protesters withstand less-lethal munitions being deployed by Los Angeles police officers and Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies after an unlawful assembly had been declared. Orellana is due in court on Thursday morning. An e-mail to his federal public defender seeking comment was not immediately returned. U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, a former California Assemblyman appointed by President Trump, has promised to aggressively prosecute anyone who interferes with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations or harms police during protests. Federal prosecutors have brought at least 23 cases related to last month's demonstrations, and Essayli promised more people will be charged, according to a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office. At least one of those cases has been dismissed, and some have been refiled as misdemeanors, records show. Asked how handing out defensive equipment was a crime during a news conference last month, Essayli insisted Orellana was specifically handing out supplies to violent demonstrators. "He wasn't handing masks out at the beach. ... They're covering their faces. They're wearing backpacks. These weren't peaceful protesters," he said. "They weren't holding up signs, with a political message. They came to do violence." Essayli described anyone who remained at a protest scene after an unlawful assembly was declared as a "rioter" and said peaceful protesters "don't need a face shield." Orellana, who works for United Parcel Service, has no criminal record and previously served in the U.S. Marines, according to Carlos Montes, a fellow member of Centro CSO. Montes said he believes Essayli is specifically targeting Centro CSO for its pro-immigrant activism, noting FBI agents seized another member's cellphone last week as part of their investigation into Orellana. 'It's ridiculous charges. We're demanding they drop the charges now. They're insignificant, ridiculous," Montes said. "The most it amounts to is that he was passing out personal protective equipment, which includes boxes of water, hand sanitizer and snacks.' A spokesperson for the U.S. Marine Corps did not immediately respond to a request for Orellana's service record. Montes also challenged Essayli's argument that peaceful protesters have no need for protective equipment, pointing to myriad instances in which people have been seriously injured by Los Angeles police and county sheriff's deputies in recent years. A Times investigation last month highlighted incidents in which protesters allege Los Angeles Police Department officers fired rubber rounds and other crowd control munitions without warning in recent weeks, causing demonstrators and members of the media to suffer broken bones, concussions and other forms of severe harm. Times staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
DOJ indicts suspect who went viral for delivering protective gear to anti-ICE protesters on live TV
A man who went viral after he was captured on live TV allegedly dropping off a pickup truck full of face shields for protesters to use amid demonstrations and riots in Los Angeles last month was indicted Wednesday. Alejandro Orellana, 29, is charged with conspiracy to aid and abet civil disorders. La Officials Charge Over 40 Anti-ice Protesters Who Allegedly Assaulted Officers, Horses And Threatened Child Federal prosecutors said Orellana met up with other people on June 9 to load up his Ford F-150 pickup truck with Uvex brand Bionic Face Shields, masks, water bottles and other items as anti-ICE protests raged in Los Angeles. He then drove the truck to a crowd of protesters and distributed the items, the Justice Department said. "We have made it a huge priority to try to identify, locate and arrest those who are involved in organizing, supporting, funding or facilitating these riots," U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli told Fox News at the time of Orellana's arrest. Read On The Fox News App La Anti-ice Rioters Face New Charges As Violence Rages "It appears they're well-orchestrated and coordinated and well-funded, so we want to understand who these people are and where this organization's coming from, and today was one of those first arrests, the key arrests that we did," he added. A group Orellana is allegedly associated with, CENTRO CSO, is raising funds for his legal defense and is planning a protest on Thursday to demand the charges against him are dropped. "Orellana is facing 5 years for protesting ICE Raids, Protesting is Not a Crime! Alejandro did nothing wrong!" the group wrote on Instagram. Locally, more than 40 people have been charged with offenses stemming from violent riots against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts last month. The charges came after protests and riots erupted in and around Los Angeles amid the Trump administration's mass deportation operations targeting criminal illegal article source: DOJ indicts suspect who went viral for delivering protective gear to anti-ICE protesters on live TV
Fox News
02-07-2025
- Fox News
DOJ indicts suspect who went viral for delivering protective gear to anti-ICE protesters on live TV
A man who went viral after he was captured on live TV allegedly dropping off a pickup truck full of face shields for protesters to use amid demonstrations and riots in Los Angeles last month was indicted Wednesday. Alejandro Orellana, 29, is charged with conspiracy to aid and abet civil disorders. Federal prosecutors said Orellana met up with other people on June 9 to load up his Ford F-150 pickup truck with Uvex brand Bionic Face Shields, masks, water bottles and other items as anti-ICE protests raged in Los Angeles. He then drove the truck to a crowd of protesters and distributed the items, the Justice Department said. "We have made it a huge priority to try to identify, locate and arrest those who are involved in organizing, supporting, funding or facilitating these riots," U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli told Fox News at the time of Orellana's arrest. "It appears they're well-orchestrated and coordinated and well-funded, so we want to understand who these people are and where this organization's coming from, and today was one of those first arrests, the key arrests that we did," he added. A group Orellana is allegedly associated with, CENTRO CSO, is raising funds for his legal defense and is planning a protest on Thursday to demand the charges against him are dropped. "Orellana is facing 5 years for protesting ICE Raids, Protesting is Not a Crime! Alejandro did nothing wrong!" the group wrote on Instagram. Locally, more than 40 people have been charged with offenses stemming from violent riots against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts last month. The charges came after protests and riots erupted in and around Los Angeles amid the Trump administration's mass deportation operations targeting criminal illegal immigrants.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS LA menace seen handing out war-time masks during ICE riots is named and shamed
The mystery donor who distributed war time masks to protesters during the Los Angeles riots has been arrested. Alejandro Theodoro Orellana was taken into custody this morning on alleged Conspiracy to Commit Civil Disorders. He is accused of distributing face shields to suspected rioters on Tuesday, according to the FBI and US Attorney Bill Essayli. Law enforcement are 'moving quickly' to identify and arrest all individuals involved in 'organizing or supporting civil disorder in Los Angeles', Essayli said. This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
New York Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
The 2028 Subtext of Newsom's Speech
When Gavin Newsom stepped in front of a camera Tuesday evening, he was a California governor addressing his constituents as a crisis of civil disorder gripped pockets of Los Angeles. But by the time Mr. Newsom was finished, it was clear the governor was speaking not only to his state but to his country, and his beleaguered party. To Democrats looking for direction and leadership, Mr. Newsom used one of the highest profile moments of his political career to lay out the threat he argued President Trump posed to the nation, and how Americans should resist it. And he suggested he was the man to lead that fight. 'Democracy is under assault right before our eyes,' Mr. Newsom said. 'The moment we've feared has arrived.' The next presidential election is more than three years away. But it was hard to watch the speech, delivered as anti-Trump protests spread from Los Angeles to other cities, and not wonder if the 2028 campaign had already begun. This may well prove to be a turning point both for Mr. Newsom and for the Democratic Party. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
