While police sirens rang in the background and a law enforcement helicopter circled above, Baba Akili stood calmly on the southwest corner of Temple Boulevard and Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles surrounded by hundreds of protesters who were still catching their breath after running away from police.
As a longtime activist and national field coordinator for Black Lives Matter Grassroots (BLM), Akili is no stranger to these streets.
For years, Akili and BLM held weekly protests against the District Attorney at the Hall of Justice, a block away from where Akili stood when we ran into him during an anti-ICE protest on June 10.
That afternoon, wearing a dark blue suit jacket, checkered button down shirt, a keffiyeh draped on his shoulders, and a fedora hat, Akili took to the same streets that he marched in back in 2020, not just to stand up for immigrants, “but all innocent people,” he said during a brief street interview with L.A. Public Press and L.A. TACO.
“We are outraged that the federal government sends in troops to snatch people off the street and that’s frightening and traumatic to a lot of people,” Akili said. “And if others of us don't stand up and stand with them then they will be more frightened.”
“There’s an African saying,” Akili continued, as the sun set in the background and drivers honked their horns in support of the protesters. “If you see a crow eating your neighbor's corn, shoo it away, because tomorrow it’ll be eating your corn. And so I and others have to be here to protect not only immigrants but to protect innocent people who have done nothing wrong and who have committed no crimes.”
Akili sees no end to the anti-ICE protests that ramped up two weeks ago.
“I was here and very much involved in 2020 and saw day-after-day of people feeling outrage and frustrated,” Akili said when asked his estimation of how long the protests may continue. “I suspect that the same thing will happen here.”
Earlier in the day, at around 3:45 PM, hundreds of protesters briefly took over the 101 Freeway, resulting in over 65 arrests, the L.A. Times reported.
While arrestees were being loaded onto police buses, California Highway Patrol officers dispersed a smaller group of protesters that included young children outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC). Officers slowly forced the group a block north of the jail, where a CHP officer calmly requested that everyone remain on the sidewalk and off the street.
“If anyone enters the intersection and sits in the intersection you will be ordered to leave,” the officer told the group. “Failure to leave will result in your arrest. The reason we're arresting you is we don’t want you to get run over by cars.”
Protesters initially complied with the order but within minutes, protesters were back in the streets blocking traffic and chanting “power to the people, no one is illegal.”
LAPD officers wearing riot helmets and holding batons formed a skirmish line across Alameda, while another group of officers holding bright green “less lethal” foam launchers stood a step behind them.
When a small group of military vehicles heading to the federal building slowly tried to make their way through the protesters, a few people confronted them and blocked their path. Los Angeles police responded by aggressively moving up their officers to separate protesters from the vehicles.
Minutes later, after another military vehicle safely drove through the protest, LAPD officers began firing “less-lethal” munitions and pushing people with batons, as they again forced everyone to move a block north of MDC.
Protesters were left with two options: head west on Arcadia or continue north on Alameda Street.
At the same time, a much larger group of over 1,000 protesters formed a block away on Los Angeles Street, outside of the Federal Court house, just minutes before a curfew went into effect barring anyone who didn’t live or work in Downtown from being in DTLA. The two groups eventually joined together.
A line of California National Guard troops holding shields stood in front of the entrance to the federal courthouse on Los Angeles Street as the clock approached 8 PM and tensions grew, while CHP held lines at the entrances and exits of the 101 Freeway. A dispersal order was called from a helicopter circling above.
Within minutes after the curfew went into effect, police from multiple different agencies—including LAPD and California Highway Patrol—used “less-lethal” munitions and police on horseback to forcefully send hundreds of people scattering in different directions.
The unprecedented police and military presence in Los Angeles only adds to the frustration that protesters are feeling, Akili said.
“Our outrage and our frustration is being met with repression and oppression,” Akili said. “These people are trained to control and suppress, whether they’re the LAPD or the National Guard. And so their presence here only adds to a worsening condition.”
When asked how the energy of the anti-ICE protests compares to the energy of the George Floyd protests, Akili says that the outrage that people are feeling over the immigration raids is even greater than George Floyd.
“The outrage that people felt from the murder and martyrdom of George Floyd was, you know, like, ‘How could that happen?’ And it looked like someplace else.” Akili said. “But now it's right on your own streets, people in your own community and neighborhood are being snatched up by federal people with masks on, and so it touches you differently, and you feel differently.”
“You feel more intense about it, you feel more passionate about it,” Akili said as protesters continued to walk the streets of Downtown despite the curfew. “And that's why I think people are here and that's why they've expressed themselves like they have.”
You can watch our full interview with Baba Akili below.
