Protests broke out in Maywood and Bell after a possible immigration raid on Friday afternoon.
Maywood, CA – A protest broke out in Maywood after a possible immigration raid on Friday afternoon.
AIR7 flew over the scene around 4 p.m. Video shows two major confrontations — one in Maywood and one in the nearby City of Bell.
In Maywood, AIR7 was flying over the area when federal agents deployed some kind of tear gas or smoke bombs on a small crowd of protesters. The crowd quickly dissipated in the chaos, with a lot of people yelling.
Things became aggressive after the gas or smoke was deployed. One protester was seen kicking it back toward the federal agents.
Video shows multiple SUVs, seemingly belonging to federal agents, stopped on Slauson Avenue near Alamo Avenue, about a block away from where the gas or smoke was deployed.
Just moments before that, a protest on Atlantic Avenue in the City of Bell got heated.
AIR7 video shows a group of about 100 people who showed up after an immigration operation in the area.
The video shows people throwing rocks and bottles at vehicles as they passed by.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared photos of some of the damage their vehicles suffered during the operations. The photos show multiple busted windows.
Federal agents say protesters rammed their vehicles with other vehicles and also slashed tires on the agents’ vehicles. At least one person was arrested for vehicular assault.
It’s unclear exactly which agencies were involved in the immigration operations. Their vehicles were unmarked, and officers were not wearing recognizable uniforms.
Federal agents from the DHS — including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been seen across the Los Angeles area. Hundreds of Marines and thousands of National Guard troops have also been deployed to Southern California.
