Outside the Department of Justice Monday was an outcry of support for an organized labor leader.
David Huerta, the president of SEIU California, was arrested Friday morning, while protesting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Los Angeles.
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WATCH HEREA video of the arrest posted by Bill Essayli, Republican U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, shows Huerta in a checkered shirt. A police officer appears to push Huerta backwards, and he goes down to the ground. He can be seen lying on the ground later in the video.
Huerta’s union said he had to be hospitalized for his injuries.
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SIGN UP “David Huerta was standing, bearing witness to an ICE raid of workers,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. “Workers who are working for a living. Workers who have been terrified because of these ICE raids.”
In a post on X, Essayli wrote, "Let me be clear: I don’t care who you are—if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted. No one has the right to assault, obstruct, or interfere with federal authorities carrying out their duties."
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered in Washington Monday to protest the ICE raids.
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“Enough of the undermining of due process, of locking up access to legal counsel for the hundreds of people, immigrants, who were picked up in L.A. on Friday,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat for Washington’s District 7.
“It's not the home of the free when you stop people from demonstrating and fighting for what they believe in, fighting for their rights,making their voices heard,” said Lee Saunders, the president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.
Monday morning, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons appeared on Fox News to defend his agency’s actions.
“ICE agents and officers go out there every day and put their lives on the line to protect this nation and do what’s expected of them,” he said.
As for Huerta, he released a statement saying his arrest is about something much bigger than him as he faces a felony charge that carries up to six years in prison.
