Union leader David Huerta has been charged with felony conspiracy to impede an officer, following his arrest during a Los Angeles ICE protest.
The president of the California chapter of the Service Employees International Union was arrested on Friday while protesting an immigration raid at a worksite in downtown Los Angeles. A video of the arrest shows Huerta being shoved to the ground by agents and handcuffed.
Huerta’s union said in a statement that Huerta was acting as a “community observer” during the raid. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on X that Huerta interfered with federal officers and “deliberately obstructed their access by blocking their vehicle.” Huerta was released from custody on a $50,000 bond on Monday. If convicted, Huerta could face up to six years in prison.
“What happened to me is not about me; This is about something much bigger. This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice that’s happening,” Huerta said in a statement.
Since Huerta’s arrest, labor organizers across the country have expressed their support.
“David was exercising his constitutional rights and conducting legal observation of ICE activity in his community. He was doing what he has always done, and what we do in unions: putting solidarity into practice and defending our fellow workers,” the AFL-CIO said in a statement.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other elected officials also spoke out about Huerta’s arrest.
“No one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action,” Newsom wrote on X.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called for Huerta’s exoneration in a statement.
“This is the United States of America and we will not be intimidated by a wannabe dictator in the executive branch,” he wrote. “House Democrats will stand with David Huerta for as long as it takes until the charges are dropped, and the rogue federal actions that have been unleashed will be completely investigated and exposed.”
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