California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters joined anti-ICE demonstrators on the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday, insulting and harassing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel before attempting to enter the Los Angeles Federal Building to check on a union head who had been jailed.
Waters was seen on film yelling at National Guard troops, who were called in by President Donald Trump after two days of demonstrators rioting and attacking ICE officials as they sought to enforce federal immigration laws.
“Why do you have guns? What are you going to do, you going to shoot some kid who’s afraid of you and runs?” Waters asked.
“You going to shoot an elected official? If you shoot me, you better shoot straight. I don’t know why you’re in my city. The governor was not contacted. This is Trump, and his outrageous attempt to not only target our sanctuary city but to frighten us and intimidate us. This is wrong, and I hope that none of you will use those guns to shoot anybody. There’s no reason to shoot anybody,” Waters added.
Waters then attempted to enter the federal building to “check on” Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President David Huerta, who was injured and jailed amid a violent clash between demonstrators and ICE authorities.
Asserting her “congressional authority,” Waters pressed for access to the building — but she was ultimately turned away by a guard at the door who told her simply, “The lobby is secured to all visitors.”
The California Congresswoman presented a slightly modified version of the day’s events when she posted an update via X, claiming that she had “pled with the National Guard, which was heavily armed, not to use their weapons against peaceful demonstrators who were simply exercising their rights to freedom of speech and protest. All people deserve to be treated with dignity and due process under the law. Peaceful, nonviolent demonstrations are critical to protecting our constitutional rights!”
WATCH:
Hours after sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles, President Donald Trump promised repercussions for protestors who spit on police officers.
Speaking to reporters alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New Jersey before boarding Air Force One, the president criticized the protestors’ methods.
On Saturday, he authorized the deployment of at least 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to demonstrations over ICE raids on employers.
“When they spit at people — you know, they spit, that’s their new thing. They spit and worse. You know what they throw at ’em, right? And when that happens, I have a little statement: They spit, we hit!” Trump declared.
“And I told them — nobody’s going to spit on our police officers. Nobody’s gonna spit on military. Which they do as a common thing. They get up to them this far away, and then they start spitting in their faces. If that happens, they get hit very hard,” Trump added.
Trump told reporters that he is considering invoking the Insurrection Act in response to the riots and chaos.
“It depends on whether there’s an insurrection,” he said. When asked how he would define an insurrection, the president added, “You really just have to look at the site. You have to see what’s happening. Last night in Los Angeles, we watched it very closely. There was a lot of violence there. There was a lot of violence, and it could have gotten much worse.”
The president has vowed to take extreme measures to protect California if elected officials in the state do not get the situation under control.