LOS ANGELES, Calif – – Hundreds of Angelinos marched to Los Angeles City Hall on Friday, Jan. 30, to protest recent immigration policies. Activists throughout the country planned for a nationwide shutdown and strike in solidarity with Minneapolis and the string of events involving the deaths of civilians at the hands of federal agents.
Students walked off campuses; people called off work and boycotted shopping at major entities in order to stand with the people of Minnesota.
Demonstrators were not just fighting for immigration rights, but also for their First Amendment rights.
The night before the protest, former CNN journalist Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles while covering the Grammys.
Lemon, who is now an independent journalist, was covering an anti-ICE rally at a Minnesota church. He was taken into custody for his connection to the event, and Attorney General Pam Bondi called the protest a “coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul.”
Along with Lemon, three others were arrested, including another independent journalist, Georgia Fort.
In Los Angeles, those who attended the Jan. 30 protest were fighting for the First Amendment rights of all.
“It’s such a shame that not only are they going for legal observers and protestors, but they’re going for journalists as well,” Verita Topete, an activist with Centro CSO, said.
Demonstrators gathered outside the church, alleging the pastor worked for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The defense argued that Lemon had attended a briefing by protesters prior to the event and kept the protest location secret until his coverage began.
Lemon was charged with two federal civil rights crimes: conspiracy against the rights of religious freedom and interference with the exercise of the right to religious freedom.
He was released from custody on Jan. 30 after an initial hearing and is scheduled to appear in court in Minneapolis on Monday, Jan. 9.
