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LOS ANGELES (CN) — A union leader who was arrested and injured Friday during a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid of an apparel warehouse in downtown Los Angeles was released on bail upon his initial court appearance Monday.
David Huerta, 58, the president of Service Employees International Union California, is charged with conspiracy to impede an officer. He didn’t enter a plea at the hearing before a U.S. magistrate judge in a courtroom packed with media and supporters and guarded over by four U.S. marshals wearing tactical vests, a rare sight in federal court.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian ordered Huerta released immediately on a $50,000 appearance bond. She also ordered him to stay at least 100 yards away from federal federal law enforcement officers, noting that that might be hard to do when he leaves the courthouse because of the heavy police presence in downtown LA.
According to the criminal complaint filed on Sunday, Huerta blocked a law enforcement vehicle from entering the facility where ICE was executing a search warrant to look for undocumented workers. Huerta was purportedly directing a crowd of protestors to block the gate and disrupt the ICE operation and ignoring warnings that he could be arrested.
The arrest of the well-known community leader sparked an outcry from ranking Democratic elected officials who have condemned the ICE raids around LA County and the Trump administration’s decision to employ the National Guard to confront protestors.
“As U.S. senators, we are privileged and proud to represent Americans like Mr. Huerta, who are pillars of their community and stand up for the fundamental rights of all Californians," U.S. Senators for California Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff said in a statement. “We have a constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice and its components to ensure that the rights of Californians are upheld.”
Huerta is to return to court on July 7 for his arraignment.
If convicted, he faces a maximum possible sentence of six years in prison.
“President Huerta has long championed immigrant rights, civil liberties and economic justice. His arrest during a lawful act of civil disobedience is an attack on free expression and the labor movement," SEIU California said in a statement after his arrest. “The labor movement will not tolerate retaliation against those who speak out against injustice."
The protests that started Friday over the ICE raids at workplaces and at Home Depot parking lots — where many day laborers gather to be hired — erupted into riots over the weekend in downtown LA. Activists confronted law enforcement outside the Metropolitan Detention Center where Huerta was detained.
Government buildings in the city’s civic center were heavily tagged with graffiti, most of which read “Fuck ICE.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday he’ll sue President Donald Trump over federalizing the National Guard in the wake of the Los Angeles protests.
“Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority," Newsom said in a statement. “This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic. This is beyond incompetence — this is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy.”
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